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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23969347">It's Not Game Over Yet</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corrupted_Wormo/pseuds/Corrupted_Wormo'>Corrupted_Wormo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's (not) just a game [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>"The deeper you go the darker everything gets.", Byleth is just a 15-year-old teenager trying to be an adult, Byleth's not Byleth, Chaotic!Byleth, Comedy of Errors, Crack, Drama, Fix-It of Sorts, Humor, I don't know what I've written anymore!, Just not in the way you expect it, Kinda it's complicated, Multi, Mystery, Or Is It?, Secrets, Something's wrong with Rhea, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Time Travel, Unreliable Narrator, everybody gets help, she's trying guys!, this is a rewrite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,311</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23969347</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corrupted_Wormo/pseuds/Corrupted_Wormo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One last chance.</p><p>One last chance of fighting their fate.</p><p>In which Byleth is gone, and somebody else takes their place.</p><p>OR</p><p>A fifteen-year-old girl gets stuck in Byleth's body. Some things happen and it's safe to say some damage is done.</p><p>[THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT HAS BEEN REMOVED UNTIL FURTHUR NOTICE]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Black Eagles Students &amp; Blue Lions Students &amp; Golden Deer Students (Fire Emblem), Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd &amp; Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd &amp; Edelgard von Hresvelg &amp; My Unit | Byleth &amp; Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth &amp; Original Character(s), My Unit | Byleth &amp; Sothis, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's (not) just a game [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Loading Game File</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23008279">no dialogue options</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozaikmage/pseuds/mozaikmage">mozaikmage</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Only you can guide them now.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[YOU HAVE UNCOVERED A HIDDEN PATH IN THE GAME]</p>
<p>[DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>{Yes} [No]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[ERROR; SYSTEM&gt;&gt;&gt;&lt;&lt;&lt;FAILURE]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[102039303930928393]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[&gt;&gt;&gt;UPLOADING&lt;&lt;&lt;]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Three armies clash on a bloodstained battlefield...</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[20%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Blood soaks the ground in which I stand on.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[35%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Days spent in laughter, training, talking...</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[55%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Gone. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[68%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I refuse to yield to my fate. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[71%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>If I can just pull this off, we'll be able to live in days of peace once more.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[89%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>My only regret,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[93%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I won't be around to see it.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[97%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude...</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[99%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Please, forgive me.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[100%]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[UPLOAD IS COMPLETE. DOWNLOADING GAME FILE NOW]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[WELCOME PLAYER]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>A woman closes her eyes for the last time as she succumbs to the warm embrace of death. She hopes that this person will succeed where she has failed. She hopes that they can save her students. She just wishes she could have been there to guide them.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One: My Name Is Juby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Where am I? What happened?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>The plane's shaking. I turn my head as I look for my friends in the sea of people around me. Penelope's clutching the back of Max's seat, screaming. Summer's gone pale, Rin's screeching in Charle's ear. Luggage falls out of the overhead bin as I try to dodge someone's falling suitcase. I tripped over someone's handbag and fall, hitting my head hard against the floor.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Someone screams, and I black-out.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>People are running all around me. Green ichor is splattered all over the ground as an ax buries itself into the head of a little girl. I'm running, as fast as I can, out of the canyon. Everywhere I look, people are dying. I'm stumbling over mutilated corpses, the air stinks of blood and burnt flesh as I sink to my knees. The canyon walls are stained with blood as I cry. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Oh my. What could have brought you here?" I open my eyes and blink. A pair of verdant green eyes stare right back at me.</p><p> </p><p>"I wonder how you got in here..." Sothis murmured as I stood there, bewildered.</p><p> </p><p><em>Am I dreaming?</em> I wondered, <em>Did I fall asleep?</em></p><p> </p><p>What happened? My class and I were boarding a plane. The flight took off. Something happened mid-flight, someone started yelling, I didn't remember anything after that.</p><p> </p><p>Sothis yawned, "Now, come to me. I wish to have a look at you."</p><p> </p><p>I walked forward into the light as Sothis's eyes widened.</p><p> </p><p>"You are but a child!"</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, "Yeah, I know." </p><p> </p><p>Geez, why does everybody call me a kid? Lady, I turned fifteen two weeks ago!</p><p> </p><p>"I have not seen the likes of you before. Who are you, anyway?"</p><p> </p><p>I shrugged. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm a human, I guess."</p><p> </p><p>Sothis nodded, "I see. Then you must have a name of sorts. Go on."</p><p> </p><p>"My name is Jubilee, but most of my friends call me Juby," I replied. Guess if this is just a dream, might as well make the best out of it, "That's about it."</p><p> </p><p>She chuckled, "I shall never grow accustomed to the sound of human names. You must possess a day of birth as well. Beneath which moon and on what day were you born into this world?"</p><p> </p><p>"Uh, should I be telling you this-"</p><p> </p><p>"Silence you fool! I'm waiting!"</p><p> </p><p>I blinked. Normally by now, I would have woken up. </p><p> </p><p>Weird.</p><p> </p><p>"I was born on the 17th day of the Great Tree Moon."</p><p> </p><p>Sothis's eyes widened in surprise as if she had just been told that she was adopted.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, wonders never cease! It seems we share our day of birth. How strange!" Sothis yawned, "Hmm. It all feels so...familiar. I think it may be time for another nap. It is almost...time...to...begin." Sothis's eyes closed and my vision went dark.</p><p> </p><p><em>Well, </em>I thought, <em>That was weird.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Most of my dreams are normally never this vivid. They're mostly random and blurry, I can only make out a few words at best in them. Oh, whatever. I was probably just being paranoid again-</p><p> </p><p>"Hey. Time to wake up."</p><p> </p><p>On second thought, maybe I was right to suspect something. For the second time already, I opened my eyes to meet the gaze of Jeralt Reus Eisner, also known as Byleth's father in the game Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the sixteenth entry in the Fire Emblem series.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What the actual fuck? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt sighs at my shocked face.</p><p> </p><p>"Were you having that dream again?"</p><p> </p><p><em>This can't be happening! Am I still dreaming? </em>I racked my brain for a response that made sense. Come on, Juby! Think! This is probably just some weird dream, right? Yeah, totally.</p><p> </p><p>"I was dreaming about a girl," I said, heart-pounding, "Her hair was green..."</p><p> </p><p><em>...Did I just talk? Holy shit, I can talk! </em> <em>I CAN TALK! THIS ISN'T A DREAM, OKI DOKI-</em></p><p> </p><p>"You’ve described her to me before. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like that." He replied, shrugging. I gave a quiet sigh of relief.</p><p> </p><p>"In any case, just put that out of your mind for now. The battlefield is no place for idle thoughts. Risking your life is part of the job for mercenaries like us. Letting your mind wander is a sure way to get yourself killed." I nodded, stunned. I look down at my hands, wiggling them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>This is weird...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Everything about my body felt wrong. My chest was too big, my hair was too short, and my skin was too pale! I didn't look a thing like, well, like me.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, time to get moving. Our next job is in the Kingdom. I told you before. It's far from here, so we'll need to leave at dawn." He said, snapping me out of my head.</p><p> </p><p>"R-right. Of course." I replied, nodding along.</p><p> </p><p><em>I don't know what's going on, </em>I thought, <em>But I definitely need some answers.</em></p><p> </p><p>Just as Jeralt turned to leave, another mercenary came bursting through the door of the inn room we were in. ...How I knew we were in an inn room I had no idea.</p><p> </p><p>"Jeralt, sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed!" He shouted.</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt frowned, "What happened?"</p><p> </p><p>I wiggled my fingers a bit and frowned too.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah, what happened?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>[DATE: 5/04/20, DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME...DO NOT TURN OFF]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[GAME SAVED]</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This story will be updated on Mondays and Fridays. This story will NOT be discontinued, so don't worry about that. I can promise that this story will have a beginning and an end.</p><p>Also, please note, I have not played all the paths in the game yet, as of now, the only two paths I have completed are Verdant Wind and Azure Moon. So any part of the story involving Crimson Flower or Silver Snow route info will be pulled from the internet and some playthroughs.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two: The Voice In My Head</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Why do I keep hearing a voice in my head? Just who are they? What do they want?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>IT'S FRIDAY GUYS!!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[CHOOSE THE GAME FILE YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTIUNE]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[GAME FILE:1̸̨̩̤̣͈͓͙̟̩͍̈́̄̄͂̎̿͂̍̀̍̍̅̂̚ͅ2̵̧͎̟͔̳̲̤͚͈̮̺̠̦̰̋́͒̌3̸̡̯̓̿̅͐͆̉̈́̑͝?̷̢̛̙̘͎͙̹͇̖̲̹̟̀̈͂͆́̕ͅ7̸̧̣̟͍̫͎͚͇̫͌̋͐̐̚͜1̵̣̻̣̘̐̓̈̏̕8̶̛̰̎̇́͋̿̈́̐̽̎͠͠1̶̢̛͕̜̻̲̟͉̫̤̦͔̥͓̀̒̆͆͌̑͛̊̽̈̚͝ͅͅ?̶̬̜͖̼̜͖͌3̷̛̭̻͔̤̹̰͕̈́̊̔͗̆̈̍̓̒̌̚4̵̡͉͚̯̯̼͍̘̣̯̤͓̗͛̓̐9̴̱̟̞̟̲͐̈́́̌̽̑̈́̐̈́̕̚̚̕͠8̵̬̠̱̞̲͑̔͑̉̓̓͛̈̏̀͋̍̚͝]</p><p> </p><p>[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE THIS GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>The mercenary led us outside the inn, where I spotted a familiar set of brightly colored cloaks.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No way isn't that-?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri bowed, "Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn’t bother you were the situation not dire."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>That's Dimitri! There's Edelgard and-Oh, my god. Is that Claude?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Either I was high on drugs, or those were the main faces of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, right there!</p><p> </p><p>"What do a bunch of you kids want at this hour?" Jeralt asked, his mouth set in a tight line.</p><p> </p><p>"We’re being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support."</p><p> </p><p>I spoke up, "Bandits? Here?"</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard nodded, "It's true. They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp."</p><p> </p><p><em>Well, that's nice. </em>(It really isn't.)</p><p> </p><p>"We've been separated from our companions and we're out-numbered. They're after our lives, not to mention our gold." Claude spoke.</p><p> </p><p>I looked over at Jeralt. He seemed impressed.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm impressed you're staying so calm despite the situation, I-Wait, that uniform..." He was cut off by another mercenary racing towards us.</p><p> </p><p>"Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn...there are a lot of them."</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt groaned, "I guess they followed you all the way here. We can't abandon this village now." He turned towards me as I looked up.</p><p> </p><p>"Come on, let's move. I hope you're ready."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The answers I want, I'm not gonna find them here.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, carefully keeping a blank look on my face. More proof that this wasn't a dream, I could control my facial expressions.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm ready."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm not fucking ready for this shit. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>We ran over to where the bandits were. The moment I saw bandits standing across where we stood, something seemed to click in my mind. I unsheathed my sword and got into an offensive battle stance. (At least, I thought it was an offensive battle stance.)</p><p> </p><p>Whelp, the sooner this was over, the better.</p><p> </p><p>When the first bandit came running up to me, sword raised, my body kinda took over. I side-stepped to the side and slashed off his head, watching it fall in the grass. Blood seeped from his headless stump. I stood there, numb, as the others started charging into battle. I quickly shook myself out of my stupor and raised my sword.</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh, my god! I just killed a guy! </em>My mind kept screaming at me. </p><p> </p><p>I swallowed hard.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Just get through this battle, Juby! You can do it!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dream or reality, this was-God, I can't put it into words. </p><p> </p><p>I severed off another bandit's head and nearly gagged. Dimitri was fighting right alongside me, striking another enemy bandit straight across the chest. It felt natural, slicing my sword across a thief's chest as he was about to bring his ax down on Dimitri.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri turned towards me, "Thank you. We are in your debt. It wouldn’t do for us to fall in a place like this. Please, lend us your strength. Let’s work together to drive out these thieves!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dude! We're in the middle of a battle! Is this really the time for some dramatic speech?!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded as I dodged out of the way of a thrown ax.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't mention it!" I shouted back as I tackled the bandit head-on.</p><p> </p><p>Kosta was battling Jeralt now, he was trying to strike him on his left side, but Jeralt kept blocking. Edelgard was nearby, fighting off a couple of bandits with her ax, she was doing well.</p><p> </p><p>I ducked and plunged my blade into the gut of another bandit, bile rosed up in my throat that I swallowed down. God, there was so much blood. Way too much...</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Pace yourself! Don't throw up!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I fought my way through the bandits. My body was the one mostly doing all the fighting though. The kicking, punching, slicing, and stabbing, that was all muscle memory. For a nineteen-year-old (I think she's nineteen?), Byleth was pretty well trained. I wonder what Penelope would think of me now, nerdy little Juby, kicking ass, and taking names. I had huge boobs now too! A far cry from my usual flat chest.</p><p> </p><p>Just the thought of it made me smile.</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt dodged out of the way of Kosta's ax. He then struck out with his lance, knocking Kosta to the ground.</p><p> </p><p><em>Yes! Kick his ass, dude! </em>I silently cheered, slicing another bandit's throat open.</p><p> </p><p>When Kosta growled and jumped back up, I was already racing toward Edelgard. I knew what was gonna happen next, thanks to Summer making me watch all 29 cutscenes of the game at 3 AM in the morning.</p><p> </p><p>"You'll die!" He raced forward, charging at Edelgard in a raging fury. </p><p> </p><p>But...that was a story for another time.</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard's eyes widened in shock as Kosta's ax collided with the end of my blade, sending it flying through the air. Kosta stumbled back in shock as I stood protectively in front of Edelgard. </p><p> </p><p><em>Try something asshole.</em> <em>I dare you.</em></p><p> </p><p>"Hey! Over here!" I turned, Claude and Dimitri came running over, both with a relieved expression in their eyes. By the time I turned around, Kosta was gone, along with several of his men. Jeralt came riding over, shock evident in his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>"Hey, did you just-"</p><p> </p><p>"The Knights Of Seiros are here!" A loud, booming voice called out as Alois and the knights came running out of the woods. I snorted. Geez, talk about bad timing.</p><p> </p><p>Alois frowned, "Hey! The thieves are getting away! Go after them!" The soldiers nodded, running after the remaining thieves. His eyes scoped the area, landing on Jeralt. </p><p> </p><p>"And, who's this?"</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt groaned, "Ugh, why him?"</p><p> </p><p>I sighed in relief, sheathing my blade.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>At least that's over. No more fighting for now.</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Captain Jeralt?! It is you! Goodness, it’s been ages. Don’t you recognize me? It’s Alois! Your old right-hand man!" He chuckled, "Well, that’s how I always thought of myself anyway. It must have been 20 years ago that you went missing without a trace! I always knew you were still alive!"</p><p> </p><p>The man in question groaned again as I stood to his left. I couldn't stop staring at my hands, they were filthy, caked with mud and grit, and I could see the faint red marks left behind by the blood of the thieves I had mur-killed. The</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I killed somebody, no, I killed people.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The whole thing didn't set in during the battle, but afterward...</p><p> </p><p>Well, it was a miracle I hadn't thrown up yet.</p><p> </p><p>"You haven’t changed a bit, Alois. Just as loud as ever. And drop that “captain” nonsense. I’m not your captain anymore. These days I’m just a wandering mercenary. One who has work to do." Jeralt turned back around, eyes closed. "Good-bye, old friend."</p><p> </p><p>Alois sighed, "Right... Good-bye, Captain." Then he gasped (Okay, dramatic), "Wait! That isn't how this ends! I insist that you return to the monastery with me!"</p><p> </p><p>"Garreg Mach Monastery..." Jeralt wistfully sighed, "I suppose this was inevitable." </p><p> </p><p>Alois turned to me as my head snapped up.</p><p> </p><p>"How about you, kid? Are you the captain's child?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No. I'm just some random fifteen-year-old girl that's trying to figure out what the fuck is going on here?!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I clenched my hands tightly at my side and forced a blank expression onto my face. Byleth didn't show emotion, so I couldn't either. </p><p> </p><p>"Yes, I'm his child."</p><p> </p><p>Alois blinked, "Is that so? Well, physical differences aside, your mannerisms do remind me of the captain."</p><p> </p><p>He grinned, "I would love for you to see the monastery too. You will join me, won't you?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded as Jeralt pointedly looked away. </p><p> </p><p>"What's troubling you, Captain? You aren't about to run off again, are you?"</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, "Even I wouldn't dare run from the Knights Of Seiros."</p><p> </p><p>As Alois and Jeralt walked away, I turned around and sighed. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Am I prepared for this?</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"I know, it's hard. But don't let the pressure get to you. </em> <em>You'll do just fine."</em></p><p> </p><p>"Wha-" I turned around, but the voice soon disappeared.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Who was that?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I appreciate your help back there. Your skill is beyond question." I turned again and saw Edelgard standing there, along with Dimitri and Claude.</p><p> </p><p>"You’re clearly an experienced mercenary. And your father, that would be Jeralt, the Blade Breaker? Former captain of the Knights of Seiros. Often praised as the strongest knight to ever live. Have I missed anything?"</p><p> </p><p>"Uh, I didn't know he was a captain?"</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.</p><p> </p><p>"How curious. I’d wager the explanation for that is fascinating indeed."</p><p> </p><p>"Hey! You are coming with us to the monastery, right? Of course, you are. I’d love to bend your ear as we travel." Claude cut in, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, I should mention that the three of us are students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. We were doing some training exercises when those bandits attacked. I definitely got the worst of it."</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard scoffed, "That would be because you ran off."</p><p> </p><p>"Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat. Everything would have worked out if these two hadn’t followed me and ruined everything." Claude jokingly groaned, "Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us. Utterly ridiculous."</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri smiled, "Ah, so that’s what you were thinking, Claude. And here I thought you were acting as a decoy for the sake of us all." Edelgard frowned at this, she looked just like my brother whenever I asked something stupid.</p><p> </p><p>"His intentions were as clear as day. You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words." She said, shaking her head.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri crossed his arms.</p><p> </p><p>"Hm. You will prove a lacking ruler if you look for deceit behind every word and fail to trust those whom you rely on."</p><p> </p><p>Claude groaned again, shaking his hand as he smiled.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, joy. A royal debate between Their Highnesses. I wonder how being completely predictable affects one’s ability to wield power." He sighed, "Personally, as the embodiment of distrust, I’d say your little exchange smacks of naiveté."</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard scowled, "Me? Naïve? Tell me, are you actually incapable of keeping quiet, or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?"</p><p> </p><p><em>Wow. </em>I nearly rolled my eyes. <em>Harsh, man.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>Dimitri sighed wearily, "In any case, forgive our digression. I must speak to you if you can spare a moment. The way you held your ground against the bandits’ leader was captivating! You never lost control of the situation." He frowned, "It showed me I still have much to learn."</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>I opened my mouth to say thank you, but before I could, Edelgard cut in.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Your skill is precisely why I must ask you to consider lending your services to the Empire." She took a deep breath, "I might as well tell you now. I am no mere student. I am also the Adrestian Empire’s–"</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Halt, Edelgard. Please allow me to finish my own proposition." He turned back to me. "The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals such as yourself. Please, do consider returning to the Kingdom with me."</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Claude gasped, "Whoa, there! You two sure are hasty. Trying to recruit someone you just met. I was personally planning to develop a deep and lasting friendship on our journey back to the monastery before begging for favors." He shrugged, "But it seems there’s no time for niceties in this world. So, capable stranger, let’s get right to it. Where does your allegiance lie?"</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p><em>"Now is a good time to start making allies." </em>The voice said, <em>"Go ahead, pick one."</em></p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Claude was a nice guy, his route was okay. Edelgard's route wasn't so bad either, but Azure Moon had to be my favorite. Silver Snow didn't exactly make any sense...I was just gonna play it neutral.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Fodlan." </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>They all groaned. "Really? Nobody?" Claude asked.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>I simply shrugged, "I'd rather not make any more enemies than I already have."</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Edelgard nodded, "A wise choice."</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Claude sighed, "Well, at least you're not against the Alliance. It would be a shame to have to fight you in battle."</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>I snorted.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Yeah, it would be a real shame, Claude.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Alois's armor clanked as he walked over to us, grinning from ear to ear.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"All right, that's enough with the small talk. It's time to head back to the monastery."</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Dimitri and Edelgard nodded, while Claude frowned.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Looks like we'll have to pick this up another time." As he walked away, I could hear the voice speak again in my head.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>"So, have you made your decision yet?"</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"What decision?" I inquired, "And who are you?"</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>The voice snorted,<em> "That doesn't concern you. What matters now, is that you need to choose."</em></p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Choose who?"</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>"Anyone! Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, who are you aligned with?"</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Why does it matter to you? Who are you to begin with?!"</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>"I'm just someone who's trying to help you. Whether you accept the help or not."</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>"Hey, wait. You didn't answer my question-" The voice soon faded from my mind. Then, Jeralt called for me and I had to follow.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p><em>That wasn't Sothis. </em>I thought.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>Just who was that?</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[05/08/20, DO YOU WISH TO SAVE THE GAME?]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>{Yes} [No]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[SAVING GAME; DO NOT TURN OFF]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[...]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[ERROR; BLOCKED]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>I'm sorry about this, I didn't mean to bring you here. I promise I'll help you in whatever way I can. I'm not Sothis, but I can still do something.</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[SYSTEM; ERROR]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[&gt;&gt;&gt;UPLOADING&lt;&lt;&lt;]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>I hope this will be enough.</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>[GAME SAVED]</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>Good luck, Juby. </em>
  </p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanna thank the nine people that gave kudos on this work! Thank you so much! This chapter is for you! Sorry if it's not that good...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Three: The Verdant Dragon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>She's staring at me from the balcony.</p><p>I can't breathe.</p><p>It feels like she's looking straight into my soul.</p><p>Is she looking for something? Or someone?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[GAME FILE LOADING, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[ERROR; SYSTEM FAILURE]</p><p> </p><p>[CORRUPTION DETECTED; PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[Ş̶̙̬̫͈̭͉̙̣̟̩̪͔̰͎̭̭̩̳̫̋̽̈́̈́̌͌̈́͂͋̓͐͆̏͊͒̏͜͝a̶̘͎͇̪̗͒͆̽̑̃͗͂͘͝͝v̶̨̢̛͖̦̖͙̣͉͉̟̖͙̼͖͉̜̯̫̘͈̲̜͊̅͗̆̇̍̿̊͗̆̿̋̏̒͌̚̕͜͜͜͜͝ͅͅė̷̮̤͔͊̂̒͊̾̽̔̏̉̎̎̅͘̚͠ ̶̛̮̻̙̬̜̞̳̰̠̟̯͔̠͙̖̞͓̰̞̯̰̖̬̼͍̱̘̐̐̿̈́̂̏̍́̈͆̍̊͊̈͂̒̉̔̃̈́͋̍͊̓́͊̂͛̈̑͘͝ͅͅͅt̴̢̨̡̘̙̩̲̘̯̤͖̮̻͔͖͕̥̜͙͉̞̖̹̬̯̽̿̈́̈͑̃̈́͆̄̎̈́̀͋̅͛͝͝͝ͅh̷̨̢͖̻̥̠͚͎̩͕̤͔̻̮͒̊̆͂ẹ̵̡̪̠̥̤̮̲̳̹͙̫̼̪̪̗͚͚̭̘̫̰͕̝̪̘̫̫̬̃̒̄͜ͅṁ̷̡̛̛͚̘̦̭͒͐͆͒͊̊͆͛̿͐̓̀̀̉̃̂̍̓̚̕̕͝]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[D̸̢̡̯̺̭̟͈̉͐̔̏̃̊̿͛̓̂͝͝Ǫ̷̡͙͖̺̹̮͈̙͎̱̞͖̤̥̳͎̣͓͎͕̲͚͇͗͋͒̅̈́͜ͅͅN̷̢̨̩͍̦̙̯͖̪̬͔̫͓̺̱̓̃͑̈́̆͂̾̂'̶̙̔̎͝Ţ̷̨̨̡̨̡̛̠͔̮̦̞̪͔̦̮̭̹͈͚̲̯̯̲̋̆̿̊͛̈́̊͊̒̇̈́̂̽͊͑͛͘̕̚̚̕͠͝ ̶̢̢̧̗̻̙̠̗̘͔̝̣͉̼̱̥̭͙́̾L̴̢̢͉̮̤̳̱̭̱̻̥͇̜̙̰̝̬̰̫̹̤͍̦̭̓́͒̑̾͆͊͐̋́̓͂̆̂́̇̉͆̍̍͒̚͜ͅͅĘ̷̧͖̺̘͙̪̟̋̉̌̑ͅT̶̘̠̦͔͍̝̺͔͙͈̥͍͇̯͎̻̬͖̳̩̉̂̆͌͗̃͒̈̀͌̈́̎͂͐̇̔̊͐̉̚͜ͅ ̷̨̢̡̫̣͍̟̤̤̦̰̖̳̫͇̱̠̥͎̳̹̻̝̮͕̣̲̫͖͐͊̽̚͠͝ͅH̵̢̢̨̨̜̰͚͔̮̥͈͓͎̮̱̟̲̼̬̺͖̠͍̭͖̬͚̠̬̖̐̇̎͐̅̀̈̈̉̅̊͊̑͐͊̕̚È̸̢͓̩͙͚̜̝̫͍̼̙̦̗̦̥͓̲͈͉̺̜̜̳̺̗̖̺̭̦̗̘̟̱̈́̓͛͂̽́̉̄̈́͂̚̕͘ͅŖ̷̧̧̡̢͍̺͚̤̠̝̦̜̳͕̟̫̥̻̱͎̣͔̖̠̤̰̗͋̇̃̇͌̑̉̅̓̒̎͒̒̒͊͆̓̔͋̃̏̓̂̓̎̎͆͘͠͝͝͝ͅ ̷̡̛͖̠̙͗͌̅͑͑͑̄̑̿̋͐͊͛̌̇̒̀̑̌̏̐̋͘Ḩ̴̡̨̡͍͇͚̯̭̘̳̜̮̳͓͚̠̮͙͇͍͍̲͕̟̲̘͍͖̳͙͙̊͆͂͋̽̉̐̒͗̈́͆̊̈̉̓͘Ư̶̧̢̡̮̱̝̭̤̥̬͚̤̱̥̥͎̺̩̗̌̌̿̿͌̏̓̈́̃̓̆̋̕̚̕̚͜͠͠͝ͅR̵̢̨̼͔̩̜̺̟̫̯͔̬̩͈̫͚̠̗̊̃͊̈́͒̋̉̂̓͆̍̂̄̉̉́͌̒͌͐̋́͒̎͗̄̀̚͜͠͝ͅŢ̵̛̪̟̞͎͎͎̳̠̞̼͇̪͙̲̊͌̅͌̄̄̅̐̿̈̓̾͂̅̈́͋̿̕͜ ̶̨̛̮͓̭̱̗͉̭̻̘͔͖͙̟̲͔͉̲̙̼̐̈͂͋̃̐̒́͛͋̋̾͝T̷̡͊Ḣ̸̢̛̛̜̦̻͓̠̳̗̮̱͍͚̤̝̩̣̘̜̞͍͈͈̱͔̣̪̗͒̓̌̓͋͗̈́͋̊̀͌̓̽̔̂̓̉̊͐̌͂̓͌͘ͅE̶̢̨̧̛̫̖̜̠̗̭̖͔̹̳͍̼̎͒̓͌́̉͂̓̉͋͋̇͑̒̏̊̍̒̋̔͘̚͠M̴̡̢̢̪̹̝͚͕̲͇̮͎̣̹̗̬̣̥̗͎̞̗̼̥͉̜̝͇̬̖͈͌̈́͂̾̿͂̇̈́̃̉͋͒͌̏͂̅̕ͅͅ]</p><p> </p><p>[Į̴̢̠̲̘̝̖̣̱̰͎̱̫̐̇̑̇̎͘̚̕'̷̡̢̟̠͇͕̯̰̹͍̠̼̼̟̜̲̻̯̦̩̯̠͎̞͖͕̻̹̳͈̪̜͓̤́̿̇̽̅̊͂̊́̍͆̕͘͠͝͝m̷̢͎̝̱͇̳̥̞̱̯̙͈͉̖̩̩̲̾̋̐͆̌͌̋̌͠ͅ ̸̡̧̭̘̣͙̭̪̠̥̼͎̙̘̪̥̦̰͕̃̑͌͝s̵̡̳͉̹̮̏̇̾̃̅͘ǫ̷̨̢̛̛͓̹̳̯̠̜̞̠̣̮̭̦͓̫͓͕͔͇̪̜̳̮͍̰̥̙̟̦͑̓̔̑͗͋̈̒́̊̔̽͛́̀̄ͅ ̶̨̛̛̠̮̞̭͉̥̾̅̄̾̓̂̄̈́̈́̍͑̋͊͊̊̓̕̚͘͝͝͠ͅs̴̡̨̞̟͓̫̥͓̻̟̯͖͈̪̙̹̘̱̲͓̠̗͉͈̣̺̜͑̓͘ơ̷̲͙̺̰̰̗̈́͗̑͗̓̇̉͌̒̃̾̽͑̏̈̋̏̚͘͝͝͠r̴̨̡͕͔͉͉͉̬͎͖͍̠̩̩̤͆̈̆́͝ṛ̶̡̨̛͖̮̰̠͈̤̗̩̫̘̺̞̫̫̩͍̆̀̐̔̆̋̎͆̉̚͜y̶̢̨̛͚̠̭̹̼̳͖̤͕̟̙͇̺̞͖͚̼̘̮͖͍̺̼̳̝̺͙̝͚͚̌̾͛̽̊̽̊͗͆͒̒͜͜,̵̺͎̊̿̒̆̀͐̄̓͝ ̵͖̜̰̥͈̮̲̬̭̜̮͚̼͖͕̈́̃͑̋̓͋̉͐͑͊̍͑̈̋̎̉̍͒͂̽̒͋͘͝͠͝͝ͅİ̵̢̨̙̭̖̜̥̻̼̻͙̜̦̜̠͒̀͌̎͒̋͊͊͘ͅ ̶̡̮͓͔̤̻͕̞̣̱͎͕̲̖̹̥̲̜̥̾̽̈́̇͒̆͗͆̓͐̓̓̽̏͐͋͑̏͌͗̈ͅͅͅf̸̡̢̧̧̞̩̰̙̠͎̥̖̈́̆͆͂̒̏̚ͅͅą̵̡̨̡̨̹̟̫͉̞̗̞̠͈̪̩͓̩̞̝̝̤̮̼̳̣̺̺̹̇̓͐͑̔̿͛̾͜͝͝ͅͅͅͅi̶̛͆̈́̀̌̿͑͛̅̐̑̓̎̓̋͒͂̓͐̚͜͝͝͝l̵̡̢͍̱̖͔͈͕̱̩̖̝̜̺̱̞̫̖̠̆̐e̶̢̨͖̦͍̥̤̜̬̼̞̞͈̼̪̘͎͙̼͍͍͇̗̯̖̰͙͌͗͗̓̽͆̃̌̋̒̂͂̉̚̕ḍ̸̛̯̺̯̬̱̦̝͔͈̿̍̓̔͒͐͛̇̇̅̾͋̌͂͆̿̊͊̋͒̿̉̑̔̋̈͌̕̕͘͜͝ͅ ̸̧̢̡̡̻̙̠͓̩̺̜̹͈͎̰̩̬̘͉̹̜̼͙̣͇̟̗̫͖̲͉͍̍̀͂̋͗̓̐͗̚͜͝y̴̨͙̟͔͎̳͎͚͈̹͚̼̖̺̥̒̔͗̃͑̏̎̒̉̀̕͠͠o̴̢͖͙̥̜̊̀̓̊͑̊͐̆̋͘̕ứ̷̡̢̳̝̫̠̗̳̰͚̩̹̟̺͙̘̰̞͑̈́͊̒͐̉̋̏̅̆͊́̐͗̅̈́̾͜͜͝͝.̴̨̢̨̨̢̲̹̦͚͙͕̬̼̝̳̖͇̲̖̝̭̲̞̱̫͓̩͙̭̠̇͐]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[CORRUPTION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ERASED, PLEASE TRY AGAIN]</p><p> </p><p>[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>"Then the guy had the nerve to run off! Can you believe that?" Claude finished explaining, "I wonder what happened to the guy..."</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri shrugged, "The bandits probably caught up to him." He sighed, "I can only imagine that they must have killed him quickly."</p><p> </p><p>"Aren't you guys worried about him? I mean, he is your-" I was cut off by Claude.</p><p> </p><p>"You mean he was our professor. Now that he's gone and done this, he's gonna be fired, for sure."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh." I mean, he did have it coming. What kind of a professor abandoned his students?</p><p> </p><p>The walk was taking longer than I was expecting. The sun was now out, shining down on us. It was getting really hot, and I was getting uncomfortably warm. The other house leaders didn't seem to be bothered, but I just wanted out of this outfit. </p><p> </p><p>The only good thing about this situation was that it gave me the chance to think some things over.</p><p> </p><p>I was sure, beyond all doubts, that everything I was experiencing was real. People don't wake up in other people's bodies every day, do they?</p><p> </p><p>There was also something else on my mind. Something I didn't want to think about. </p><p> </p><p>"This is your first time at the monastery, correct?" Dimitri asked, smiling. My head snapped towards him.</p><p> </p><p>"Huh? Oh, yes." I replied, slowly nodding, "I wonder what it looks like."</p><p> </p><p>"I'll be happy to show you around if you would like that."</p><p> </p><p>"Sure. That sounds nice."</p><p> </p><p>Claude gave a loud sigh, "It really is Fódlan in a nutshell. The good and the bad."</p><p> </p><p>"Like or not, we'll be there soon enough," Edelgard spoke coldly.</p><p> </p><p>She paused, then, looking up.</p><p> </p><p>"There it is. Garreg Mach Monastery."</p><p> </p><p>The trees broke into a small clearing, revealing the monastery in all of its medieval beauty. It looked like something out of a fairytale, to be honest. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Wow. I never thought I would see this place in person. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, Penelope, what do you think about taking a-" I stopped.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, right. She's not here.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I was on my own here. No friends.</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, looking back up at the monastery. In the distance, I could hear the sound of bluebirds chirping. </p><p> </p><p><em>How am I suppose to do this? </em>I wondered, <em>How am I suppose to guide a bunch of kids, older than me, through a war? </em></p><p> </p><p>I watched as Dimitri laughed at a joke Claude made, while Edelgard gave a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>How am I gonna beat this game?</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>I stood, waiting nervously in the Audience Chamber alongside Jeralt. Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude had already left to join their respective classes. Alois had been dragged away by the Knights Of Seiros to who knows where.</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt sighed, running a hand through his mousy brown locks.</p><p> </p><p>"It's been years since I've last set eyes on this place. To be forced to see her now..." He murmured. </p><p> </p><p>"Her? You mean Rhea?" I asked. </p><p> </p><p>Jeralt nodded, "I've never spoken of this to you before, but..." He hesitated, "Many years ago, I was a knight here. I reported to the archbishop...Lady Rhea."</p><p> </p><p>"The archbishop?" </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The creepy-ass dragon lady?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, "As you know, the majority of folks in Fódlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros. The leader of that ridiculously large organization is the archbishop, Lady Rhea."</p><p> </p><p>As if on cue, Lady Rhea, (Crazy dragon woman), and Seteth strode through the doors of the Audience Chamber.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, no.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"My thoughts exactly."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Seteth nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Thank you for your patience, Jeralt. My name is Seteth. I am an advisor to the archbishop." </p><p> </p><p>He nodded, "Right. Hello." </p><p> </p><p>Rhea smiled softly, her jeweled headpiece glimmering in the sun. "It has been a long time, Jeralt. I wonder…was it the will of the goddess that we have another chance meeting like this?"</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt bowed, "Forgive my silence all these years. Much has happened since we last spoke." </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Stay calm. Don't panic. There's just a highly unstable dragon woman in front of you.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm pretty sure that's a good reason to panic-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Shut up, voice!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"So I see." She turned towards me and smiled again, "The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you. That is your child, is it not?"</p><p> </p><p>I gritted my teeth.</p><p> </p><p><em>Don't punch her, </em>I silently chanted, <em>Don't punch her...</em></p><p> </p><p>"Yes, born many years after I left this place. I wish I could introduce you to the mother of my child, but I’m afraid we lost her to illness."<em><br/>
</em></p><p> </p><p>Rhea sighed, "I see. My condolences." She turned towards me, "As for you, I have heard of your valiant efforts from Alois. What is your name?"</p><p> </p><p>I gave a small polite bow.</p><p> </p><p>"My name is Byleth." </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's Juby, actually, but I can't say that!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Rhea nodded, "A fine name, indeed." She smiled again, "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for saving those students of the Officers Academy."</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt turned away, "Hmph."</p><p> </p><p>Rhea turned back to Jeralt, "Jeralt. You already know what it is I wish to say, do you not?"</p><p> </p><p>He reluctantly sighed, "You want me to rejoin the Knights of Seiros, don’t you? I won’t say no, but…"</p><p> </p><p>She dejectedly sighed, "Your apprehension stings, I had expected that Alois would have already asked this of you. I must step away for now, but I expect they will desire a word with you soon. Please listen carefully to what they have to say. Until tomorrow, farewell."</p><p> </p><p>Rhea walked out of the room, with Seteth trailing behind.</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt groaned, "I can’t believe it. Forced back into the Knights of Seiros." He turned back to me, "I’m sorry I dragged you into this. It looks like I’ll be stuck here for a while…and I’m afraid your services are requested as well."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Act surprised!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I have to work here? As a mercenary?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Eh, close enough."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, "Nothing like that," He said, "They want you to teach, by the sound of it. You heard those brats earlier talking about the Officers Academy, right? Well, the academy just happens to be short a professor. And that damned Alois went and recommended you to Lady Rhea."</p><p> </p><p>Manuela and Hanneman entered then. Manuela giggled, looking at Jeralt.</p><p> </p><p>"So. You must be the new professor. My, how stern and handsome you are!"</p><p> </p><p>"Er, no. I’m not the one you’re looking for." He turned back to me, "You can handle things from here. Good luck." He turned to leave, "And watch out for Lady Rhea." He added, "I don’t know what she’s thinking, making you a professor like this. She may be up to something, stay on your guard."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded as Jeralt walked away. Manuela and Hanneman turned towards me, shock evident in their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, it's you then? So young..." She murmured.</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman shook his head, sighing.</p><p> </p><p>"Competence and age are not necessarily correlated, as you well know." He turned back towards me, "I am Hanneman, a Crest scholar, and professor at the Officers Academy. I wonder if you bear a Crest of your own. When next you have a moment to spare, I insist that you pay me a visit so we can delve into the subject further."</p><p> </p><p>Manuela smiled, "I’m Manuela. I’m a professor, a physician, a songstress, <em>and</em> <em>available</em>. It’s nice to meet you."</p><p> </p><p>"You're a songstress?" I asked, feigning curiosity.</p><p> </p><p><br/>
"Of course. Before I came here, I belonged to a renowned opera company. Perhaps you've heard of me? The Mittelfrank Opera Company's beautiful, peerless–"</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman interrupted, "Spare our colleague the needless chatter, Manuela." He sighed, exasperated, "Now then, it seems you’ll be taking charge of one of the academy’s three houses. I expect you haven’t yet been briefed on the nature of each, have you?"</p><p> </p><p>I shook my head, "Nope."</p><p> </p><p>Manuela gasped, "Do you really not know? Fine, I’ll do you a favor and explain." She took a deep breath, "The Officers Academy is comprised of three houses of students, each of which is closely affiliated with its region of origin. The Black Eagle House is for students from the Adrestian Empire. Their house leader this year is Edelgard, the Imperial princess, who is in line to be the next emperor."</p><p> </p><p><em>"Emperor, huh?" </em>The voice spoke, curious.</p><p> </p><p>"The Blue Lion House is for students from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Their house leader this year is Prince Dimitri. He is to be the next king of Faerghus." Hanneman spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"No surprise, there."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Lastly, there is the Golden Deer House, which is for students of the Leicester Alliance. Their house leader is Claude, grandson to Duke Riegan, the leader of the Alliance."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"A noble? Really?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman sighed, "To think that the next emperor, king, and sovereign duke are all here. It certainly is a promising year for the academy."</p><p> </p><p>I snorted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah...Promising.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I’ll say! I just hope none of those little treasures cause any trouble." Manuela shivered, "I hope we don't have a repeat of the Miasma incident last year."</p><p> </p><p>I nervously laughed, "Uh..."</p><p> </p><p>"Hm, quite." Hanneman turned back to me, "For now, I suggest taking a stroll around the academy to get your bearings. And when you’ve got a moment, please stop by my research laboratory." </p><p> </p><p>Manuela sighed, "The old man has a point. Oh, and keep in mind that I’ve only notified the house leaders that you’re our new professor." She winked, "It’s more fun that way. I suggest you try spending time with the students. Some odd ducks in that bunch, but they’re good kids. I’m sure Lady Rhea will have more information for you tomorrow, but that should get you going. Good luck, you’ll need it."</p><p> </p><p>As the two walked away, I felt the voice stirring again in my mind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Well? What are you waiting for, time to get going!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded and turned around, ready to explore the world...</p><p> </p><p>...Just to stumble and fall straight on my face.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Oh...That's gonna hurt."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. Whoever thought of creating high heeled BOOTS?!</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>I stepped out into the courtyard, looking around. Students walked by, talking, laughing with their friends. Some of them held thick textbooks in their hands, while others held swords and other weapons on them.</p><p> </p><p>I felt someone poke me from behind and I turned. Claude stood there, sheepishly smiling.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, well. Scored a teaching gig here, did ya? Talk about a great first impression." He chuckled, "I guess that means I'd better introduce myself properly. I'm Claude von Riegan. I'm from the ruling house of the Leicester Alliance, but don't worry too much about all that madness. I'm guessing you don't know which class you'll be teaching yet, do you? I bet you'd like ours. We're not as...difficult as the other two. Have you met the folks from the Golden Deer House yet? Care to know more about anyone?"</p><p> </p><p>I shook my head, "I haven't met anybody yet. You're the first student I've run into, so far."</p><p> </p><p>Claude grinned, "Really? Well, then, I'm honored."</p><p> </p><p>I chuckled, "I gotta go find the other house leaders, I guess I'll see you around?"</p><p> </p><p>"Alright." </p><p> </p><p>I smiled as I walked away.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Claude seems nice...Maybe I should pick his house?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Try talking to the other house leaders first, kid. Then we'll see."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Okay...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I spotted Dimitri nearby, he was talking to a dark-skinned man I recognized as Dedue. I was about to walk over when a flash of ginger came running into me, knocking me over.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm so sorry!" Annette stuttered out as she helped me up from where I was on the ground, "I didn't see you there!"</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine. Are you okay?" </p><p> </p><p>"Wha-Me? Oh, yeah! Totally!" She nodded, "Who are you? I haven't seen you around the monastery before."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, uh, I'm-" I was cut off by Annette gasping.</p><p> </p><p>"Wait, you're that mercenary that saved his Highness! Right?"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, um, that's right." I replied, scratching my neck, "That's me..."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, wow! What are you doing here? Are you planning on becoming a student here?" Before I could stammer out another response, Dimitri walked in.</p><p> </p><p>"Annette, are you okay? I saw you fall, what happened?" He asked, curiously.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, "Well, I was just running to get to the Dining Hall for kitchen duty-" She gasped, "Oh, no! I'm late, I gotta run! It was nice meeting you!" She quickly ran off, muttering words under her breath.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri sighed, "Annette's always on the run for something." He turned back to me, "Please accept my apologies for the other day. You came to our aid, yet I hadn't even the courtesy to properly introduce myself." He gave a bow, "I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus." he sheepishly smiled, "Of course, at the academy, I am simply a student. And I've heard word that you are to become a professor here. Delightful news. I still have much to learn, but I'm confident I could benefit greatly from your guidance. In any case, welcome to the monastery. I hear you're investigating the different houses. Did any of the Blue Lions catch your attention?"</p><p> </p><p>"Actually, yeah." I looked after Annette as she faded into a speck of orange hair in the distance, "You said that was Annette?"</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri sighed, "Oh, yes. Annette is Baron Dominic's niece. She is a talented student who scored extremely high marks at the Royal School of Sorcery. She's cheerful and hardworking. Brilliant, really. Though she can be a bit oblivious at times. I hear she caused an explosion in the kitchen last night..."</p><p> </p><p>I shuddered, "Reminds me of what my friend did, one time."</p><p> </p><p>Croissants are very flammable, who knew?</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri nodded, "Well, did any other student catch your eye too?"</p><p> </p><p>"No. I still haven't talked to most of the students yet. Rhea told me I should talk to the house leaders first."</p><p> </p><p>"Is that so? Well, I won't bother you then-"</p><p> </p><p>"Uh, actually," I cut in, "Could you show me to the Entrance Hall? I think Edelgard's suppose to be there."</p><p> </p><p>"The Entrance Hall? Sure, it's not so far from here." </p><p> </p><p>Dimitri walked me over to the Entrance Hall, where most of the students were currently residing. I frowned,</p><p> </p><p>"I don't see her. Where is she?"</p><p> </p><p>"So you've accepted a teaching position here... Pity." I turned around. Edelgard stood there, shaking her head. "I was hoping you would lend your strength to the Empire. I never properly introduced myself, did I?" She gave a small bow, "My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am the princess and heir apparent to the Adrestian Empire. I wonder if you'll be tasked with leading the Black Eagles... I hope you've had a chance to meet everyone. Would you like to know more about any of the Black Eagles?"</p><p> </p><p>"Uh, maybe. I haven't met any of them yet."</p><p> </p><p>She gave a disappointed sigh, "I see. Well, then. I suppose I shouldn't interfere with your tour." She noticed Dimitri standing beside me and gave a small nod of acknowledgment before walking away.</p><p> </p><p>We stood there in silence for the next two seconds before I said something.</p><p> </p><p>"Is it just me, or do you also feel like you just failed some big important test?"</p><p> </p><p>He sighed, "You're not the only one."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><em>"Edelgard seemed a bit cold. Why do you suppose that is?" </em>The voice spoke. I had just finished talking to the other students and house leaders and was waiting for Rhea and Seteth to arrive, in the Audience Chamber.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well, she is planning to start a war. She probably doesn't want to get too attached to anybody, in case she has to kill them.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hmm..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The war. A fun reminder that this game wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. In chapter twelve, Edelgard declares war on the Church of Seiros. This would start a five-year-long period of bloodshed and misery. The player(me) would go missing during these five years and come back to guide their traumatized students through war against their former allies and friends.</p><p> </p><p>Not fun.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Which reminds me. Echo, can I ask you something?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Echo?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I can't just call you 'voice' forever. Besides, you sound like an Echo. So. Echo.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I guess. What do you want to ask me?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I took a deep breath. Just then, Rhea walked through the doors, along with Seteth, Manuela, and Hanneman.</p><p> </p><p>"How are you enjoying your time at the academy thus far? I hope you have found our halls brimming with the vitality of well-intentioned souls." She smiled.</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "There are a lot of great kids here."</p><p> </p><p>Seteth crossed his arms, "Hm. I suppose it is time for you to take charge of one of our three houses of students. I must note that I am personally against entrusting someone as lacking in trackable history as yourself with such a task, but it is as the archbishop desires." He turned away as he said this.</p><p> </p><p>Manuela chuckled, "The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer… All so different. I hope you’ve made it a point to get to know each of them."</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman turned to me, "Since you are new here, we have decided to allow you first pick. Manuela and I will take charge of the remaining two houses."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh! Uh, okay." I agreed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I think you should go with the Golden Deer house, they seem nice."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Echo, I've already made my decision. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Really?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yes.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"So, you have chosen the Blue Lions, led by Dimitri, correct?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "Yes."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Really?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Rhea beamed, " Your heart has made its choice, then. All I ask is that you guide these open minds with virtue, care, and sincerity."</p><p> </p><p>Seteth nodded, "They are all promising youths who bear the weight of Fodlan’s future upon their shoulders. I hope you appreciate what an honor it is to lead them."</p><p> </p><p>"Brother?" A familiar girl with large green curls appeared next to Manuela.</p><p> </p><p>Flayn.</p><p> </p><p>She looked around and gasped, "Oh! I am so sincerely sorry! I did not mean to interrupt." </p><p> </p><p>Seteth groaned, "I am in the middle of something, Flayn. Is it urgent?"</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, it’s nothing. More importantly, who is this?" She motioned toward me.</p><p> </p><p>"This is our newest professor at the academy." </p><p> </p><p>I waved, "Hello, there!"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh my! A new addition to the Officers Academy! I am so very pleased to meet you, Professor. I am Seteth’s little sister, Flayn. I am so happy to make your acquaintance!"</p><p> </p><p>Seteth sighed, before turning back to me.</p><p> </p><p>"Let us focus on the topic at hand. There is something you should be aware of. In a few days’ time, there will be a mock battle between the three houses, intended to gauge the current progress of the students. We will be using this battle as an opportunity to ascertain your own abilities as well. Please do not disappoint the archbishop. That is all."</p><p> </p><p>Lady Rhea walked off, Seteth following shortly afterward.</p><p> </p><p>Manuela sighed, "I suppose I'm teaching the Black Eagles again, this year."</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman nodded, "Teaching the Golden Deer will be difficult, considering the circumstances, but I think I can manage."</p><p> </p><p>They walked away, talking to each other, and I was left alone in the Audience Chamber.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Why did you choose the Blue Lions?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Honestly?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yeah?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sheepishly looked down at my boots.</p><p> </p><p>"I just like the color blue."</p><p> </p><p>Silence.</p><p> </p><p>Then-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Are you fucking kidding me?!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, come on!" I whined, "Their banner looks so cool!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Ugh...Why am I even stuck with you?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I frowned.</p><p> </p><p>"Echo. That's what I was wondering too. Why are you here, besides to help me? Where's Sothis?"</p><p> </p><p>No response.</p><p> </p><p>"Echo? Echo?" I groaned, "Great, now they're gone..."</p><p> </p><p>[5/10/20, DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME...]</p><p> </p><p>[ERROR; SYSTEM ERROR]</p><p> </p><p>[S̶̨̨̤̖̗̺̟̪̪̯͖̼̥͔̙̪͕̥̝͕̯̫̹̘̈̑͋̅̑͛̋̿̍̒̿̋̓̎̽̈̄̆̒̀̈́͌̌̽̌̋̓̾̏͗͘͜͝͝͝ͅǫ̷̡̨̦̜̞̭̗̲̪̼͈̘͚͉̖͓̙̭̞̰̻̇̔͊̋̑͛̿̀̃̈́̽̎̊́̆͊̂̌̈́̿̔̅̓̿̉̇̒̎͗̓̋́̑̈́̈̾̀͌̔̕̚̚͝͝͝͠ͅt̵̡̢̝̤̳̯͔̳̰͒͗̏̔̎́̈͋̅̈́͊́̊͋̀͊̄̉̿͒̓͛̍̉̓̇͘̕͝͝͝h̵̢̧̧̨̡̛̛̭̦͓͈͇͉̘̲̤͙̖̖̦̠̘̻̻̣̼͖̜̮̣̱͍̯̭̟͙̹͙̻̞̠̠̮̲͙͎͇͇͓̋͛̋̑̒͛͋͑̇̊̏̾̉͗̈̐̑̾̎́̐̇̒̏̇̈́͂̑͗̎̿̆̄̐́̍́̌̿̄̓͌̈͋͗̉̎̏̆̕̕̕̕͘̚͜͝͝ͅḭ̶̢̨̢̡̧̡͓̫̰̤͎̟͔̞̥̱͈̖͙̟̠̹̦̜̖̜͎̝͎̩̜̰̞̭̫̭̱̝͉͎͍͈̯̝͈͍̥̤̞͚̳̙̲̼̤͎̺̼̥̰̞͎͕̩͓͍͔͌̊̄̉̀̿͂̄͆̊̒̐͛͋͛̌͆̔͐́̒͛͗͊͗̐̏̈͌͗̔̾̅͂̏̽͆͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͠ͅͅṣ̶͈̰͂̓̅́̈̎͆̔̍͌̓͂̊̎̍̎͗̃̅͌͊̈́̓̋́̎̒̆͑͊̚͘͘̕̚̚͠,̵̧̨̡̨̡̡̪̗̟̦̼̖̣̣̹̪͙͙̼̣̼̣̣̬͈̱̻̘̩̘͕̦̦̬̩̞͎̭͔͚̏̾͋͗̽͛̅̐̓ͅ ̶̡͈̘͙͎̬̬̖̖̮̣̩͉̿̂̀̃́̀̂̈́̉̄̂̐̆̔̑̈́̑̂̑͐̐̊̀͠͝͝ṗ̸̨̡̧̜̮̤̬̤̺̻͍̬͇͓̮̪̖̪͎̣̲̩̗̠͕̯̱̙̫͉͈͔̖͇̪̖̫̈́͛̌͐̃̿̍͋̏̇̽̓͆͆͆̓͂̅̐̾̃̔̈͂̽̋̔́̋̉̚̕̚͝͠͠͝͠l̸̡̡̡̡̢̧͇̺̟̩̤̫͉̰̱̬̰̹͍͉̗̥͔͍̬̭͎̘̺̪̭̟͚̞̘̬̪̦͕̘͈̟̺͉̞̠̱̘̲̳͉͇̝̜̭̺̲̅̒̐̎̈́̋̚͜͠ͅͅḛ̵̢̨̢̛̛͈̗̝̙͎͍͖͙̣̪͇̥̯͕͉̹͉̲̻̝̙̬̟̤̥̠̳̫́̔͂͋̋̒͐̓̒́̄͋̂̈́̌͛̊́͒͌̾̔̒̆̎̉͛̇͊͋̉̽͛͗͑͋̈́̀̈̌̓̍̐̐͋͒̕͜͠͠͝ͅa̷̡̨̡̡̧͉̖͔͍̗̦̼̭̮̱̘̯̬̥̗̭̤̯͚̩̻̯̹͖̰͍̜̫͈̰͈̘͎̬̩̹̘͙̝̱͈̹̪̗̤̼̝̝̭̲̦͎̋̊̑͂̔̅̈́͊̄͆͊̅̒͑̔̀̔̈́͂̕̚̕͝͝ͅş̵̛̯̰̼̻͙͛͂̿̊̑̐͛̓̃̒̆̆̆͋͆͒̊͊̽̑̇̚̚͘͝ȩ̴̟̹̜͎̹͕̜̗̮̩̰̤̰͚̜̹͍̯̟͎͓̹͚͚͉̲̝̪̼͈̝̹̘̥̝͇͇͔̖̩͚̦̳͑̋͆̈́̆͊͊͗̐͊͛̑͋͒̏̍̌́͛̓̊̂̿̍͊̈͑̍͋͌̉͘̕͘̕̚͠͝͝͠,̷̡̻͙̱͉͕̝̱̼̠̰̘̥̦̗͔̮̯̬̱͓͍̮̱̝̥̠̮̫͕͙̠͋̎̂͋͋̑̾́̄̈́͂̽̏̔̈̒̽̕͜͜ ̶̯̬͈̝̰͓͂̾̿̀̆̽͐͂̐͗̌̍̂̆̕͘w̴̡̧̧̧̢̨̡̛̛͖̳̫̙͓̗͉͓̱̺̣̗̝͎̪̗͍̼͉͍̫̲͍̼̬̤̱͕̭͔̫̣̪̼̙̖̙̥͖̣͙̗̳̥͊̎͑̄̒̐̍̄̾̅̈̌̑͛̊̍̒̓͒̓̈́̇͛̎̇͑̓̐̈́́͌̔͗̾̾̈́̊̍͋̈͊̀̀̀͗̕̚͘̚͘̚͘͜͝͝͠͝ͅȃ̷̧̡̛̛̱͎̥̺̘̥̠̹͚͍̳͍͉͕̿͌̃͑͊̇̏̃̊͌̈́̄̃̌͊́͑̊͒͑̊̔̀̓͋͋̽̑̏̏͊̊͑͊̓͑̋̍͐̊̎̍͛̈͌̽̄̓͐̾̈͗̈́̓̈́͐̽̄̕̕̚͠͝͝͝͠k̴̢̨̡̢̛̩̯̦̩̭̲̠̫̟̬͖͇͈͖̫͕̺̪̙̳̳̙̳̥̦̮͍̖͈̻̘̫͍̳͕̣͔̮͔̬̠̯͓̬̯͓͍̹̯͐̌̿̾̂̓͗̋̂̉͋̏̓͆͊̕ͅȩ̷̡̧̧̹̖̭̬̝͙̱̟͖̰̝̬̘̖̜̯͉̹̙̯̭͖͚͎̱͉̼̼̠͉̮̮̖̤̼̯̖̝̲̗͚̼̞̎̄̄̒̾͋͂̑̾͆̏̋́̐͗̀̅̑́̈́͂̅͐͒̏̈̔͆͌͋͛̋̆̉̔̓̓̓̅͂͆̌͗͌̉̀̒͌̎͗̂̈̓͒͘͘̚͜͜͠͠͝͝͠ ̶̧̨̨̢̛̛͙̟̝͖͈͓̺̭̰͎̘͙̘̺͗͌̌̄͑̊̃̒̿̈́̌̒̋̑̽̔̂̃̇̇̈́̂̌͂̎̑͒̓͐̽́͛̋̄͆̾͐̐̅̓̈́̃͋̿̓̈́̉͐̅̊̈́̈͑̈͌̆͛̾̈́̍̉͘̕̕̕͝͝u̴̡̢̨̡̡̖̹͓̼̘̙̳̩̝͔̝̲͙̠̪͓̮͔͈͚̹̜̭̞̥͔̒͋̿̂̐̉̓̉̀͑̏̄̓͐̆̂͐̉̒̐͑̌̌̋͌̈́̆̃̂̇̉͐̾̇̐͊̅̒̃̓͌̾͗͊̂̅̓̇̇̚̚͜͜͠͝͝ͅͅp̵̛̛̣̻̗̩͇̙̳̲̉͑͑͊͑͌̑̉̏̊̄͗͌͗̉͒͛͛͐̏̒̑̔̆̑́̈͒̀͐̈̿̆̓̈́͑̍̇͊͛̒̚̕͝͠͝͠͝͝͝ ̴̧̨̢͎̞̗̩̜͉̳͔͚̱̫̹͍̫̳͖͙̺͚̜͖͎̰̤͎̫̤͚̤͔̫̰̮̱̗̭̼͎͓̫̼̲̻͔̤̘̒̈́̋̃̂̽̈͐͗̋͊͗͑͌̃́̚ͅͅṡ̴̡̡̢̥͚͇͕͙̰͔̭̣̟̗̦͖̣̝̭̥̦̘̞̲͖̓̓͐̆̒̔̊̅̓̓̎͑͌͌̈̑̆̀͜͜͜͝͝o̴̧̨̢̡̡̤͎͓͉̗̱̥̘̹͉̤̮̣͍̬̼͖͉̫̹̣̝͓̲̞͎̩͔̜͓̪̱̹̣͙̣̙̞̱͆̎̔̐̓͊͊̆͐̇͗̀̃̌̎̾̾̐͌̊͋͗̆̓̀̈́̃̈́̈́̂̾̏̒̂̒͑̋̍̕͜͠ͅơ̷̡̅̎̿́̎͛̏̄͑͛͂͌̋̂̂͆͋̓̂̊̍͛͆͠͠n̷̡̧̨̨̡̢̡̨̨̨̛̪̩͎̲͚̯̜̱͕͔͚̪͓̦͖͎͖̱͎͉̠̟̫͔̣̮̘̰̱͈͈̱͕̗̞͇̭̬̬̹̯̮̙̹̬͕̱̤͎͈͙̼̺͕͔̝͈͕̳̳͆̍̆̓̐̂͆̀̏̆̎̔̿̿̄̈́̔̇̈́̓̉̎͋̑̇͌͗̿̆̊͊̐͛̍͒͋͆̀̇̌̑̑̈́̈͛̈́̽̒̃̇̏͘̕͜͜͜͠͠͠͝͝ͅ.̵̧̛͕̟͍̞̉̑̍͐̆͊̾͆͐͊́̉́̄͑̋̐̊̽̊̒͊̏̎͛̈́̈́͒͊͛̿̕͘͠͝]</p><p> </p><p>[GAME SAVED]</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>:D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Into Another || World</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hello, world!</p><p>Ģ̴̨̡̨̨̛̼͙̪̳̰̲̱̘̪̭͔̫̳́͗̄͗̓͌̊̿̅̏͊̏̈͛̿͆̍̉͊̌̋̈͊̈́̎̓͘͘͠ǫ̸̧̧̧̧̛̝͓̰̖͚̗̮̻̲̺̲͚͓͎͚͈͕͉͈͚̞̥̙̣̠̬̗͔͍̠̗͍̻͐̽̆̊̌̑͒̾̃̓̕͜͜ͅͅǫ̴̡̨̠̭̹̮̮̞̙̜͙̙̬̰̰͕̟͎̖̲͈͔̘̭̻̦̪̺̰̬͓̠̟͖̟̩͚̆̈́̑̃̉̌͊͊̈́̽́̉̽̈́̄̔̓̑̎̏͐̉̏̈́̓̀̋̈́̐̀̆̋̎̇̉̾̚͘͝͠͠ḋ̶̬͖͉̫͙̼̉̃̊̎͐͋̀̑̐̍̓̾͐̂̍̌̃̋̉͋̽͋̌̌̃͋͘͘̚̕͜͜b̷̡̧̡̛̘̠̠̭̗̹̳̞͍̩̜̯̰͈̝̞̬̜̠̼͍̯̮̰̱̦̖̹͚̻̗̣̖̹̺̞͕̣̟̺͕͑̊̃͋̋͊͊͋̏̏̀̄̒̄̆̿̎̽̽͌̄͗̃̏̉̉̍̾͒͌̉̋͒̑̽̋̓̑̈́͝͝͠ͅỳ̶̡̩̺͈͙̯͇͔̃͗̈́̆̏̔̀̈́̄̄͘͝ę̴̛̜̥̜̣̻̣͚̜̱̰̊̾̄͑̔̄̊̈̉̓̑̿̉̎̃̄͂̇͒̍̂̑̌̉̄͂͋̑̐͑͐̾͆̕͠,̴̧̰̜̳͖̹̗̭͕̞̖̰̘̣̣̬̯̄̑̽̂͊͛͐̍̋́̓̅̾͗̏̂̆̒̒̈͘͘̕͝ͅ ̷̨̢̨̨̡̛̙͎̮̩͕̗̫̼̺͈͉͙͔̘̬̮̬̩̹̳̯̰̼͍̜̉̑͂̽͐̓̌̇̊̒̆͌̓̓̈̉͒̂̐̋̓͑͆̾̅̋̽̆̓̑̀̋̕f̸̛̼̆͐̃̇̐̊͆̾̆͋̒̓̀̍̽̊̏̈́̅̐̎̔̈́̐̍͗̎̔́̉̓͐̕̕̚̚͝͝͠͠͝r̸̝̯͕͓͙̞̠̱͎̬̋͑̑͐̒́̆̾̚͝i̷̢̧̛̛̝̥̺̻̙̰̳̬̖̞͖̞̥͖͎̣̲̠̙̳̲͍͕̥͎̩͈͉̪͇̦̹̖̥̗̤̜̮̣͂̇̆͒͐̊̏̽̔̋́͗̊̈́̍̂̓̓̕͜͜͝ę̴̰̟̫͔̖͈̗̣͚̦̬̹̦̭̜̮̫̬̮̮̺̼͎̬͆̈́̋͛̎̐̃̋̄͌̿̏̀̂̐͗̚̕ͅn̶͓͍͔̖̟̒̈́͆̄̽̀̓͂̉̓̏̔̃͗̽͛̊̂͛̇̈́̿̎̈̓̄̽͂̍̚̚̚̕̕͘͝͝͠ḑ̸̧̫̱̯̹̦͓̺͎̲̪͖̟͕̲̞̂͗̍̍͌̌̐̏̚̕̚ͅ.̵̢̜͕̩̩͌͐͒͋̈́̍̋̓͊͋͗͒͒͛̅̓̑͒̃͗͐́̽̊͂̀̈̇̾̆̄̕͠͝͝͝</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[SAVING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[THERE IS A HIDDEN FILE HERE]</p><p> </p><p>[DO YOU WISH TO OPEN IT?]</p><p> </p><p>(WARNING! FILE IS CORRUPT; POSSIBLE VIRUS)</p><p> </p><p>[DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[OPENING FILE]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Books and various pages are scattered across a table.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's dark and quiet. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A lone figure stands at the table, scribbling something down.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"This has to work..." She murmurs, "This is my last chance."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The notebook snaps close, and she grabs another book off the table.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's leatherbound, worn, and looks as if it could fall apart at any time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>There's a black pentagram drawn on it.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>An ominous feel fills the room.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It is as if two worlds are meeting each other for the very first time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A goddess slumbers in a broken throneroom.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A dragon plots her downfall.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A hero nervously greets her newfound students.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...And a lost soul attempts to find her way back.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yello! Here are two chapters, to make up for not updating!</p><p>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Four: A (Strange) Crest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Why doesn't my Crest look right?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[LOADING GAME FILE]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[Update! There is an update for this route! Would you like to install it now?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[UPDATING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[Update complete! Would you like to open the game?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>I knocked hesitantly on Professor Hanneman's door.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes?" I heard him asked. </p><p> </p><p>I swallowed roughly before answering.</p><p> </p><p>"Professor Hanneman? It's Byleth, you asked me to come by-"</p><p> </p><p>The door immediately flew open and I had to step back to avoid getting hit. </p><p> </p><p>Hanneman stood in the doorway, beaming.</p><p> </p><p>"Byleth! Come in, please." I entered the small office, looking around. </p><p> </p><p>There were many books and papers scattered around the room in a mess. Bookshelves lined the walls, notes sticking out randomly in various places.</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman pulled out a small device from behind his desk.</p><p> </p><p>The Crest Analyzer.</p><p> </p><p>"While you're here, I'd like to use this device I designed to determine whether the power of a Crest resides within you. Won't hurt a bit. Promise." Hanneman told me.</p><p> </p><p>"Crests?" I asked, acting dumbfounded.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Play it stupid!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman gasped, "You don’t know about Crests?Well, allow me to tell you everything–absolutely everything–about them. Is your calendar clear? This will take a while. Crests are a fascinating topic, but before one can dive deeply into the said topic, one must first understand what Crests are. They are power incarnate. They are said to have been bestowed upon humans by the goddess countless ages ago. They exist within the flesh and are passed down through bloodlines. Those who carry crests may excel at magic, display exceptional strength, or any number of boons. Each Crest has its power, the nature of which is beyond mortal understanding. For now, at least."</p><p> </p><p>Echo snorted, <em>"Please. You and I both know <strong>way</strong> more about Crests than this idiot here."</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Echo!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What? He can't hear me anyway!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"So...You think I might possess a Crest?" I asked, hesitantly. </p><p> </p><p>"I suspect as much, yes. But we won’t know for sure unless I look into the matter. As I said, Crests are passed down through the blood.However, just because someone carries a Crest does not necessarily mean their descendants will inherit it as well. Only a scarce few descendants of a Crest’s bloodline end up inheriting that Crest’s power. Perhaps one of your ancestors bore a Crest, and you just happened to inherit it. That is how a Crest usually presents itself, after all."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "I see...I guess there's no harm in looking into it."</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman beamed, "Splendid! Now, please go ahead and hold out your arm, over this device here."</p><p> </p><p>I held out my arm over the Crest Analyzer, letting it be scanned.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh! It tickles!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Kid..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, right. Sorry.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman stared, gaping.</p><p> </p><p>"What is this?! A pattern I’ve never seen before… Is it possible an as-yet-undiscovered Crest has been detected? To think there are still Crests out there that even I am unaware of! How thrilling!" He coughed, "Ahem… Pardon my unrestrained jubilation. I have much to consider. You may leave now. I have more research to do regarding this Crest. Yes, so very much more research. But for now, your work here is done."</p><p> </p><p>He turned away, but I could still hear him muttering to himself, "Hmm… Do these lines merge? Perhaps it represents a lack of symmetry… or perhaps… What in the world? They aren't connected...Maybe-No, that cannot be it."</p><p> </p><p>I tore my eyes away from Hanneman for a moment and looked back at the Crest Analyzer, frowning. </p><p> </p><p><em>"Something wrong?" </em>Echo asked.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>There's something wrong about this.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Something about my Crest doesn't look right." I murmured, rubbing my chest at the sudden ache I felt.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Well, of course, it doesn't! If your memories are correct, then isn't this only part of the Crest Of Flames? You just haven't seen the whole thing."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Maybe..." I frowned, rubbing my chest. The pain hadn't gone away yet, it still prickled.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Why does my chest hurt at the thought of my Crest?</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Sothis, there's gotta be something we can do!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm afraid there isn't."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"We cannot just give up like this!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm afraid there's not much we can do for her. We're powerless, as of right now. It's taken all my strength just to be able to talk to you both. Indeed, even now, I feel as if I could fall asleep at any time."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Sothis, I'm scared for her."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I am too."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Will she be alright?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Only time can tell, ______."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"May the goddess protect us all, oh wait, you're the goddess."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Shut up, Echo."</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another short chapter! Don't worry! The mock battle is coming up next!</p><p>Sorry, I know you probably all are excited about the mock battle. I promise I'm working on it!</p><p>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Five: Talking To Echo(es)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Why do get the feeling that I'm being watched?</p><p>Is there more going on here than I know?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[LOADING UP GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[ERROR; SYSTEM: HACKED]</p><p> </p><p>[CORRUPTION DETECTED; STAND BY]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Edelgard! I will have your head!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"We could have been friends."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I wanted...to walk...with...you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm sorry, Professor. I wasn't strong enough."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Dimitri, forgive me..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm sorry..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>"I'm sorry."</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>I shot up in bed, gasping for breath. I could feel cold sweat trickle down the sides of my face. </p><p> </p><p><em>"Another dream?" </em>I heard Echo ask.</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "Yeah," I sighed, "Goddamnit..."</p><p> </p><p>It was quiet and dark right now. Everybody had already fallen asleep, even Seteth and I swear that guy must be part night-owl or something.</p><p> </p><p>At least, I thought so. I mean, he was an immortal dragon, who knew?</p><p> </p><p>The month had passed by quickly. I had introduced myself to the students and Dimitri had even shown me around, before I knew it, the battle was tomorrow afternoon.</p><p> </p><p>I stood, stretching my arms. Moonlight peered through the windows in my room, casting me in a strange silver glow.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Where are you going?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Out"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Are you kidding? You need to get some sleep! The battle's tomorrow-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Please, Echo. Just let me have this." She sighed.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Fine." </em>She said, but I could hear the reluctance in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>(Echo had insisted on me using she and her pronouns.)</p><p> </p><p>I stepped out into the cool night air, my boots clicking each step I took. I could hear students snoring away in their rooms as I rolled my eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>Just like Dad. </em>I thought, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Your father used to snore?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Yeah, and not just him, my brother, and my mom too. </em>I chuckled. <em>Course, I had a bit of a sleeptalking issue.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Sleeptalking?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, walking down the steps of the dormitories, stumbling a little before I managed to catch myself.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I had a habit of talking to myself in my sleep. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"It couldn't have been that bad. Could it?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I snorted as I walked by the greenhouse, the smell of flowers and vegetables strong in the air. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I once sang an entire song for a complete hour and a half.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Goddess be damned, kid. You didn't!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I did. My brother still has the video.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Video?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, yeah. You don't know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I silently explained to Echo what a video was as I passed by the fishing pond, pausing to take a look at the shining lake surface, illuminated by the moon high above.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I see...So it's like a painting that moves?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I chuckled, sitting criss-cross on the docks.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I guess if you see it that way.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>A cool breeze swept through the air, tangling my already messy locks of hair, unkept from hours of tossing and turning.</p><p> </p><p><em>"It's pretty," </em>Echo spoke, after a little while. <em>"The moon looks lovely tonight."</em></p><p> </p><p>I nodded, smiling slightly.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, I agree. It really is beautiful."</p><p> </p><p>We sat in silence for a few more moments, neither of us breaking the silence.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You nervous for tomorrow?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, looking up at the sky.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah. Honestly, everything about this is so...surreal. I don't know what I'm gonna do.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You're still worried about the war, huh?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Well, yeah. I don't have a shred of combat experience, and all I did in the last battle was rely on Byleth's muscle memory."</p><p> </p><p>Echo chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry, kid. You have me, I'll help you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I know that Echo, it's just..."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Just what?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I hesitated, "Do you ever think about stupid this war is, Echo?" I asked, softly.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>"What do you mean?" </em>Echo sounded confused. </p><p> </p><p>I sighed, "This war happens because of some really shitty reasons, correct?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Well that's one way of putting it."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"In fact, Echo. This...whole war is just caused by a spiraling cycle of events out of anybody's control." I stand up.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...What are you saying, kid?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I'm saying, it's not right for me to stand by and do nothing. I mean, hundreds if not thousands of people will probably die. Can I really just not do anything?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not like you can do much-"<br/></em>
</p><p> </p><p>"But what if I could?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Huh?" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I took a deep breath. "Everybody here...They all have their own problems, their own dreams and wishes. Why can't they all see that, deep down, they're not so different from each other."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"If I could just get them to open up to each other, Echo if I could just get them to work together, unite against a common enemy-"</p><p> </p><p><em>"Nobody would have to pick any sides." </em>She finished, realizing. <em>"This war might not even have</em> <em>to happen at all."</em></p><p> </p><p>"Exactly."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"How are you going to get the other houses to work together? No offense, but I don't think Dimitri's gonna be jumping for joy once he finds out Edelgard is working with his family's killers. As for Claude, it's gonna be a challenge just to get him to open up about himself, let alone his past."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I shrugged, looking out over the pond.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't know, Echo. But if there's a chance that I can stop this war from happening, I think I'm gonna take it."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Echo sighed, defeated.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Then I'll support you, but do remember, you're not a god. You have your limits, too."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I know." I coughed, grimacing at the pain it caused in my chest.</p><p> </p><p><em>"What's the matter?" </em>Echo asked, suddenly alarmed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's nothing. Just my chest.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Again? This isn't normal, kid. I really think you should-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"It's fine, Echo," I answered, shaking my head. "It's just chest pains. It can't mean anything, can it?"</p><p> </p><p><em>"If you say so..." </em>She didn't sound so sure.</p><p> </p><p>I walked back to my room, tiredly flopping back down on my cot. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched...</p><p> </p><p>But maybe that was just Byleth's paranoia. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Reports on the girl?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"She's alright, I don't think she'll be a threat to our plans anytime soon."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I see. Good work tonight."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What's wrong? All I did was compliment you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"She reminds me so much of her..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Now, now. Don't get your panties in a twist. You'll see your family again, soon."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'm only doing this for my family. Not for you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Aw, now. Don't go acting like that."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>WHAT'S UP, GUYS!!! SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. </p><p>The mock battle will be out by next Wednesday! So look out for that! I know I said that the mock battle would be next, but I got caught up in something...</p><p>EDIT: Hey, guys! I would LOVE to give a quick shout out to you readers out there! Thanks for the 24 kudos and the 400 hits! Sincerely, Wormie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Six: A Chaotic Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How the hell did we win?!</p><p>Some things are changing, whether it's for the better or the worst, I don't know.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you, all of you guys who read this story. </p><p>I mean it. It means a lot to me to know that some of you actually like this crazy story I whipped up. So thank you.</p><p>-Wormie</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[SHUTTING DOWN COMPUTER, PLEASE WAIT] </p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[ERROR! SYSTEM; 182713561231] </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>N̸̛̤͖̩̳͈̥̥̤̝̗͉͓̅̏̂̀̅͆̅͒̓̊͊̆̏̾͒̄̃̚͠Ö̷̪̗́̀̓̌͂̆́̈́̃̃̿̏̓̇̂̏̋̏̀͛̈́͐͆̍̀̽͒͘ͅ</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ị̷̢̡̧̨̨̧̹̙̼̞̜͍̟͈̰͈̻̳̙͚̖͉͍̥̞̤͚͕̹̪͈̞̭̻̐̊͊̈́̽̿̈́́͌̓̉̉́̒̔̓̾̑͗͒͒̆̓̇͛̍̔͒̈͂̂͋͂̕͘͜͠͝ ̸̡̧̡̧̧̢̢̛̱̘̺̣͙̜̥̬̩̫̥̥͈̙͍̳̯̠̪̼̺̣͎̦͓̱̟͚̺̩̙̘̦̠̘̰͔͚̫̙̯̭̝͍͈͉̩̹͚̰̮̔̌̏͐̐̌͒̓̾̈́̃͌͆̒̍̀́̈́̊̄̆̇͊̓̈́͑̊̈̓͗͋̾̈́̃̄̒̔̉̌̅̃̈́̈́̐̈́̕̚̚̚͜͜͜͝͠ͅͅw̸̡̨̛̛̛̛̩̲͉̺̜̝̫̘̣̬̤̲̪͍͎̜̗̣̦̳͓̪̗̘̩̜͈̖̏̔̐͐͐͌̆̍̀̂͌̔͂͂̇̀̑͋̅͛͆̾͑̒̏̌̽͂̊̈́̎̆̄̒̈͛͋̅̊̊̃̓̋̒̉͐͘̕̚͜͜͝͠͝͝ͅą̵̡̛̭͉̻͍̠̞̣̼͕͓̹̹̠͕̻͉̼̬̪̫͔̭̣̘̞͍̳̻̳̖̗̻̼̝̺̱̣̙̫̫̎͒͋͊̏̏̈͂̋͊͆̿̋͐̆̔̆̏̈́̆̈̈́̓̿̄̈́̎͑̌̂̄̔͑̅̀̿̍̎͛̄͗͑̽̒͐͆̀̓̒͐̑̌̂͘͘͝͠͝͝n̵̡̢̧̡̨̢̧̡̰͈̹̤̺̮̱͙̳̮͉̘̜̤̘͕̳̭͖͍͔̫̹͍̦̗̬̘̹̖͔̠͚̜͈̰͔̳̘͍̮̰̘̻̞̮̲͇͖̖͚̥͉̰̾͜ţ̸̧̩̯͚͍̬͙̫̹̗̭͚̲̲̱̩̳͚̬̣͖̪̭̪͖͖̮͋̂͒͑̽̃̑̃̑̄̀̔͋̍̄͆̊͗̀̌̇̆̂̈́͑̒͌̅̋̀̆͊̑͂́̈́͆͑̐͊̀̃̉̊͊̚͝͠͠ ̸̞̞̳̥̺̝͊ť̴̡̡̡̧̡̢̢̢̧̛͙͖̭͕̗͖̖̺̻͔̣͉͎̙̦̼̩͉̱̦͕̺͇̺͕͉͓̳̘̼̭͔̞̬̳̞̘͎̞̻̜͚̰̬̮̗̰͕̖̖̅̋͂̌͆̿̆̍͗̅͑͛͌͌̽̊̽͊̓̈́̎̎͒̽̈́̈̇̌̇̎̃͂̅͊̂͊͗̒̕͘͘̚͘͜ͅó̷̡̡̧̞͙̝͔̼̠̠̭̥͙͈̫̘̬̩̝̦̬̦̣͔̬̄̇̈́̊̑̍̽̈́̑̎͛̕ͅ ̵̛̛̛͚͉͖͖͕̺͔̺̺̤̻̯̗̘͎͍͑̿͐͊͑̊͒̌̎͒̄̓̉̉͋̂̎̒̒̓̀͒͊̓̎̽͑̃̋̿̇̊̋̈͐̂̓̾̒̑̄̀͆̒̓͘͘͘͘͝͠͝͠ǵ̵̢̢̧̧̧̛̛̦͙̤̞̠̱̳͚̣̮͎̝̳̞͇̭̲̥͎̪͓͎͔͓̬͉̳̣͍̮̯̳̖͍̠̽̓̑͂̋͗̄̌̔̎͑̉̔̔͗̾̈́͛̋̉̐͒͊̄̋͊̋̈́̿̽͗̌̏̀͌̓̏̾͐͗̑͑͑̎̓̀̆͐͆̏̈̋̚͜͜͠ͅǫ̴̳̭̘̻̺̻̖͖̜͉̬͇̺͖̳͈̋̅͌̓̾͌̅͊̂̌̕͘̚͘ ̷̧̙̣̺̈́̔̅̅̑̐̄̾̾͛͂͑͐̿͒̌̃̀̂̈̆̕͝Ḩ̸̨̨̡̢̡̛̛̰̞͕̲̞̟͓̤̠̳̯̫̮̥̪̤̗̲̭̜̤͚̮̈́͐̓͋͌̎͗̌̍̒͊̋̓̈̍̾̐̽̅̌̒̍̍̓̄̾̈́̿͌̂̆͐̔̉̕̕͝͝͝͠͝͝Ǫ̴̧̢͙͓̣̩̺͚͚̘̩͈͚͕̹̯̖̫̘͇̝̠̦͓͙̏̓̉̔̓̿̈́̑̌̊͂̑̎̆̀̃̔̑̑̄̕͜͜M̵̧̧̢̛̜̥̜̣̪͍͚̯͓̬̖͔̳͕͕͈̼̤̮͖̺͕̫̮̪͉̩̘̱̭̳̗̜̰͓̠͍̼͔̹̖̘̮̩̪͖͚̺̣̭̏̏͂̀̈́͌͂̋̽̽̊̂͛͆̇͗̎͊̀̑̎̓͋̾̓̓͐̊̔̽̃̉̔̅̿̔͗̽̒̊́̄̇̕͜͜͠͝͝͝͠͝͝͝E̴̡̡͕͇̭͔͔̜̭̳̩̮̻̘̱͉̞̞̲̲͋͗̊̽̈́̒͐̾̀͆̎̂̇̏̐͗͂̈́͂̈̀̓̚̕͝͝</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>"Ah, it's finally time for the mock battle. I'm eager to put my skills to use. And you, Professor?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "I'm looking forward to it."</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled, "Excellent. I have high expectations for your command. That said, I've no doubt it will take everything we've got to pull a victory."</p><p> </p><p>"I'll try my best, though there's no telling what could happen," I replied.</p><p> </p><p>"I suppose you're right." He sighed, "Claude probably has a scheme up his sleeve and Edelgard...I can't imagine what she'd do."</p><p> </p><p>"Well, I trust we're all going to give it our all, right?" I said, grinning.</p><p> </p><p>He smiled back, "Right."</p><p> </p><p>Just then, Claude and Edelgard entered the yard. </p><p> </p><p>Claude chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey there! Did we miss our invite to this strategy meeting? Oh, no worries–we'll just join in now." </p><p> </p><p>Dimitri sighed, shaking his head.</p><p> </p><p>"Nice try, Claude, but I do not intend to let slip our strategies. Especially when we are up against such strong opponents as you two."</p><p> </p><p>Claude laughed, "Well now! Kind words from his kingliness. If that's the case, we'd better come up with some clever schemes so as not to disappoint." He turned towards Edelgard, smiling. "Right, Princess?"</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard nodded, "Right. No matter the tactics you devise, we will destroy you. The best you can hope for is to learn a thing or two."</p><p> </p><p>"Destroy us? I don't know about going <em>that </em>far."</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri chuckled, "Haha, yes, there's nothing wrong with a friendly rivalry, but let's not get carried away. A rash attitude could be your undoing, after all."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "Dimitri's right."</p><p> </p><p>"Hmm... Perhaps your time would be better spent preparing instead of worrying about the competition's mindset." Edelgard spoke.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, now! If you two are getting this fired up before the battle even starts, it'll make it that much easier for my class to sweep up a win. So please, carry on."</p><p> </p><p>I shook my head, "We won't fall to your schemes that easily, Claude."</p><p> </p><p>Claude raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really now?"</p><p> </p><p>"Aw, how precious. Looks like you and the students have become fast friends." Manuela said, smiling as she and Hanneman arrived on the grounds.</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman sighed, "While I am pleased that you are taking the initiative to acquaint yourself with the students, I'm afraid it's about time for the faculty strategy meeting."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "Of course."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You know, it's okay to loosen up. You don't have to act so formally."</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>I gotta keep up this facade. </em>I said, well, thought back.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Byleth is supposed to be <strong>emotionless</strong>. Jeralt's going to think something's up if his daughter suddenly began talking and cussing like a sailor.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sorry, it's a saying from my world.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Echo snorted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"First videos, now sayings? What on earth was your world like?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, looking away from Manuela's and Hanneman's bickering for a moment to gaze at the sky.</p><p> </p><p><em>It was weird, yeah. </em>I finally replied, <em>But it was my home.</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Whoa!" I slipped on the dewy wet grass, falling bottom first onto the ground. I stood up, albeit wobbly, wiping the grass off myself.</p><p> </p><p>"Professor? Are you okay?" Dimitri asked, concerned. He was standing beside Mercedes and Dedue. Behind them was Ashe.</p><p> </p><p>I waved him off.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, heh, I'm fine!" I quickly got into a battle stance, drawing my training sword.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, training sword. Everyone around us was using training weapons, NOT real weapons, mind you, this was still just a mock battle. We had a few more months to go before Edelgard declared war, almost an entire year.</p><p> </p><p>Almost an entire year, before everything would go to hell.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Thump. Thump. Thump.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>My heart felt like it was gonna fly out of my chest anytime soon.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Kid, take it easy. It's just a mock battle, calm down. Remember, I'm your guide! I'll help you beat this game!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I snorted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Okay, look, just focus on getting through the mock battle. Afterward, we'll figure out what happens next."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Alright.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The horn sounded across the field as the battle began.</p><p> </p><p>I quickly scanned the field, taking in Edelgard and Claude's positions.</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard and the others had taken up position in the bushes, with Ferdinand stubbornly going ahead, Caspar following shortly after him. The Golden Deer were spread out defensively around Hanneman, who was standing on a healing tile.</p><p> </p><p>At least, I thought it was a healing tile?</p><p> </p><p>"So, what's our first move, Professor?" Dimitri asked.</p><p> </p><p>I blinked.</p><p> </p><p>"Uh, well." I coughed, "Edelgard's probably planning a surprise ambush from the looks of things, so we better avoid that."</p><p> </p><p>I motioned around us, "We should probably set up a perimeter first, you know, a line of defense?"</p><p> </p><p>Everyone nodded and I sighed in relief as I directed everyone to their places.</p><p> </p><p>I nodded towards the Golden Deer, "Let's take down the Golden Deer first, then go after the Black Eagles. Mercedes, Ashe, I want you to back us up in the back with your magic and arrow attacks. Dedue, Dimitri, you're with me.</p><p> </p><p>"On it!"</p><p> </p><p>Everyone quickly got into positions just as Lysithea sent a Miasma attack flying our way. I quickly dodged as Mercedes intercepted the attack with a Nosferatu, sending her flying back.</p><p> </p><p>There was no time to dwell on that, however, when Hubert also sent a second Miasma attack our way. Then Ignatz began firing arrows at Caspar, Ferdinand attacked Dedue with his lance, Ashe managed to land a hit on Lorenz...</p><p> </p><p>It was safe to say everything went to hell pretty fast.</p><p> </p><p>That's the only way I can describe it.</p><p> </p><p>Weapons were flying everywhere, arrows, magic attacks, hell, I knew we were fucked the moment Edelgard pulled out this HUGEASS training ax and began swinging.</p><p> </p><p>Whoever says that training weapons aren't dangerous, DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT.</p><p> </p><p>I once took out twenty bandits with a training sword the first time I played Fire Emblem: Three Houses. TWENTY BANDITS PEOPLE!</p><p> </p><p>The battle was chaotic, wild, crazy, AND FUCKING FANTASTIC! (You know, in that thrilling battle way?)</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Kid! Behind you!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I quickly turned and deflected Felix's blade, throwing it away before kicking him away.</p><p> </p><p>He crumpled to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Is he okay?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"KID!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What? I'm worried!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Ngh...Why do I even bother? He's probably fine! You didn't hit him that hard, did you?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't think so...?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Oh for the love of-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She quickly quieted down as I ducked another Nosferatu from Manuela, who was already dealing with Hanneman. </p><p> </p><p><em>Hey, Echo? </em>I asked as I blocked Lorenz's attack.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"WHAT?!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>How old is Byleth?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"KID! THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>But I'm curious!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"KID!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fine.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I threw away Lorenz's lance and knocked him to the ground. He groaned, clutching his stomach.</p><p> </p><p>"I've lost?! Oh! Unthinkable!" He trudged dejectedly off to the side where the other Golden Deer were, a bruise quickly forming on his face.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Now I feel like shit.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hey, don't feel bad. You didn't hit him that hard, and besides, we're winning!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...We are?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Look around you! Who's left?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I quickly took in my surroundings, realizing-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Holy shit. We're the only ones left.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Aside from Dimitri and Edelgard, everyone else was out.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>When did this happen? Did we win?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"By the goddess-Yes, kid! We won."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri quickly knocked Edelgard's ax out of her hands. It landed in the dirt behind her as she stumbled back in shock.</p><p> </p><p>She sighed, "To think that the Black Eagles could lose so readily..." She faltered.</p><p> </p><p>"All right, that's that! The winner of this mock battle is... The Blue Lion House!" Jeralt called out. </p><p> </p><p>The Blue Lions cheered as I reached out a hand to Edelgard.</p><p> </p><p>She took it and stood up, shaking the dirt off of her.</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri smiled, "Good game, Edelgard."</p><p> </p><p>She looked away, I frowned.</p><p> </p><p>That expression...</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hey, bro! What was that-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Go away!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Joshua-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Just go!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Okay..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I shook myself out of my stupor as I held a hand out towards Edelgard.</p><p> </p><p>She blinked.</p><p> </p><p>"Good game." </p><p> </p><p>It took her a few minutes to shake back, a smile forming on her lips.</p><p> </p><p>"Good game."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I think we're making progress, Echo!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I guess..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The Blue Lions surrounded Dimitri, cheering. </p><p> </p><p>I smiled at the sight, then winced.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>That pain again.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard looked over at me, concern flashing in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Please see a nurse!" </em>Echo pleaded, <em>"Something's not right!"</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's fine, Echo.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I shot Edelgard a reassuring look as Hubert dragged her away.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm fine.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She didn't seem convinced.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Professor! I've been looking for you." Dimitri entered the Reception Hall, alongside Claude and Edelgard?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What are they all doing here?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I was thinking we could all share a meal together."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Oh. Like a victory celebration?"</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, "Yes! I thought it would be fitting to invite the other houses as well."</p><p> </p><p>Claude chuckled, "Yeah, I thought for sure the Golden Deer were gonna win. Though it seems we underestimated our opponents." </p><p> </p><p>Edelgard sighed, "Indeed. But do not take the Black Eagles for granted, we are far stronger than you take us to be."</p><p> </p><p>I looked at them, surprised.</p><p> </p><p>"Uh...Sure." I finally replied, "That sounds nice."</p><p> </p><p>Claude beamed, "Good. Now, come on. The others are already waiting for us in the Dining Hall."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, still confused.</p><p> </p><p>Edelgard and Claude walked on ahead as Dimitri turned to me.</p><p> </p><p>"Professor. I'm sorry to intrude, but...you don't look too happy for someone who just won."</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, looking down.</p><p> </p><p>"I guess I'm just worried about the school year. I'm not sure I'll be a good teacher to you guys..."</p><p> </p><p>I felt him place a hand on my shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>"Do not worry so much." He answered, "You will do just fine."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I hope so Dimitri. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't want to fail you.</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Sothis, wake up!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Sothis, please!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Wake up! I need help...Juby needs help!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...I'm not strong enough yet. Please, I can't do this alone."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Please, when will you wake up again?"</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pure chaos. One reason why you should never let a fifteen-year-old girl lead a battle.</p><p>Also, has anyone noticed anything about Juby's heart? :)</p><p>Edit: THANK YOU AGAIN, READERS! I know it's a difficult time right now, so we need all the encouragement we can get. We're gonna get through this together! I know it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Seven: To Strange Dreams And First Missons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Red Canyon mission, huh?</p><p>I hope I can lead them well.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Edit: Guys! Don't be alarmed! I just edited this chapter! Also, thanks for the bookmark Anime_hotty_lover_24! I'm kinda surprised you like this story enough to bookmark it! Don't worry, chapter eight will be out soon. I'm just experiencing a sort of writer's block right now.</p><p>EDIT: Yes, I changed Juby's last name. You'll understand why.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[UPLOADING SAVED FILE]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>"Your work with the students was remarkable. I can see Jeralt trained you well. I do hope you were able to use the occasion to bond with the students." Rhea spoke, a gentle(creepy)smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, being careful not to let my eyes betray my emotions. </p><p> </p><p>"I did."</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, "I am so happy to hear it. Nothing would please me more than if you would use this coming year to grow closer still."</p><p> </p><p>Seteth sighed, "Of course, the mock battle was mere practice. The real fight is the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, which will take place during the Wyvern Moon. You are expected to properly train your students so as not to humiliate the academy during the long-held tradition that is the coming battle."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded.</p><p> </p><p>"As for today, I have called you here to tell you of your mission for the month ahead. Your class is to dispose of some bandits causing trouble nearby." Rhea spoke, motioning to me with her hand.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kosta, oh god. I'm SO NOT READY FOR THIS!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Keep it together, kid. You can't afford to panic!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I know!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Bandits?" I asked, carefully.</p><p> </p><p>Seteth nodded, "Those affiliated with Garreg Mach Monastery have a moral obligation to help those in need, regardless of social standing. Students are no exception. Each month, before the newly birthed moon, departs, each house of students must complete their assigned mission. You shall work to complete the task at hand alongside your students and report back to the archbishop before the deadline." He looked at me, distrusted. "Understood? I will soon provide you with the necessary details for your first mission. If I told you now, I expect you would only forget, and I despise repeating myself."</p><p> </p><p>Oh...I'm already getting a bad feeling about this!</p><p> </p><p>Rhea sighed, "I can sense something special within your heart...I have high hopes for you."</p><p> </p><p>I nearly snorted at that.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Something special in my heart. You mean the freaky glowy stone you implanted in Byleth when she was born?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Rhea and Seteth soon left me to my thoughts, they probably had business elsewhere.</p><p> </p><p><em>More blood? </em>I shuddered at the thought of those bandit's heads rolling in the grass, <em>Ngh.</em></p><p> </p><p><em>"You're gonna have to get used to it." </em>Echo replied, <em>"You said it yourself, Byleth can't show emotion. Not now at least."</em></p><p> </p><p>I sighed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You're right.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I walked out of the Audience Chamber and strode down the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Going to the library, huh?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded as I turned the corner, entering the library doors.</p><p> </p><p>After all, there's nothing like the smell of books and musty old paper to pick you up when you're down. </p><p> </p><p>I spotted Linhardt snoring away on a table, but other than him, the place was pretty empty. Nobody else was here.</p><p> </p><p>Well, I did see Tomas, but I didn't want to go anywhere near that guy.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Agreed, he is creepy as fuck."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah. For once, you're right.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What do you mean once?! Goddamnit kid, I'm your only fucking brain cell!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I walked over to a section and pulled out a random book, flipping open the cover.</p><p> </p><p>"Loog And The Maiden Of The Wind," I read, "By Christopher Von Blaiddyd."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Loog? Who the hell names their kid, Loog?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I snorted, walking over to a nearby table and pulling out a chair.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I've heard weirder names before. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sat down and flipped to the first page, yawning.</p><p> </p><p>Hours must have gone by the time I finished the book. Man, was it long!</p><p> </p><p>I looked up from my book, blinking blearily.</p><p> </p><p>It was getting late.</p><p> </p><p>I yawned, resting my head against the cool hard surface of the table.</p><p> </p><p>I probably should have started writing the lesson plan earlier, but-</p><p> </p><p>One little nap couldn't hurt anyone, could it?</p><p> </p><p>Echo would be mad, though.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hey! No sleeping!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She sounded distressed when she said it, but I shrugged her off.</p><p> </p><p>Looking back now, I probably should have listened.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Edelgard was kneeling on the ground in front of me, her sword thrown away.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I had the Sword of The Creator raised.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sweat trickled down my face as sunlight filtered through the windows of the opera house.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She looked up wearily, exhaustion evident in her face.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Your path...lies across my grave."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Her voice sounded blended, yet broken as well. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Three voices, all of them suffering.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Suddenly, I wasn't looking at Edelgard anymore. I was looking at them all. Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The house leaders that Byleth, no, <strong>I</strong> had failed.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"It is time for you to find the courage to walk it." Their sad faces seemed mixed together in a seamless blur.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Wrong, this is</em> <em> wrong</em> <em>!</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"If I must fall, let it be by your hand." They spoke, green, blue, violet eyes sparkling with unshed tears.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I raised my blade and walked forward.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It felt weird. Wrong, like something else was moving my limbs and muscles.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>My mind felt murky, clouded.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>STOP! PLEASE!</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Before I struck them down, they said one last thing.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"̷̧̡͚̟̬͕͎̪̱̈́̎̑W̴̼̘̣̳̮̘̠̗̍͊̂͌̓̑̕͜͜ḛ̶̛̩̹̭̖̪̲̋͐͗͆̍͊͒̒͌̊̂̿̕ͅ ̶̧̦͙͙̲̫̱͖̺̟̘̰̇̏͗̓̾̈́͌͌̚w̷̧̛̛̞͕̮͉̙͎̝̅͒̌͒́̾̾͒͋̓̔͊̚̕͠ả̶̧̨̝̱̺̰̟͚̙͉͍̲̫͔͈̮̳̍̒͜ņ̸̨͕̮̜͉̱̟̹͎̭͕̟̅͆̑̋͂̑̌͝ṱ̴̡̡̛̳̳̬̻͚͓̪̰̭͇̟̎͗̊̌̈́͛̃̐͂̓͛͜ę̶̛͙̠̳͇͔̥̰͙͒̀̃̚d̶̡͙͍̣̦͆͘ ̴͕̙͋͗ţ̷̧̧͓̱̼̩̦͕̣̳̬̣͓̱̲̜̼̺̿͛͊̃̒̋̈̾̑̓͛̈́̐͊̄̾̓̈́͜͝ͅͅợ̴̭̻͙͈̋̉͆͐̌͗̎̑͂͐̒̈́̏͐̕͝͝͝ ̷̡̛̲̖̤͇̹̗͙͓͉̲̝̖̣̥͛̉̇͐̃̊̀͛̓̑̕͜͝ͅw̶̨̘̭͓̘̠̣̤̪͚̰͋͒͊̀̆͒͐̿́̓̄̈̚͝ͅḁ̵̧̧͎̩̦̳̩͎́̅̌̒̽̈́̇ͅl̶̢̢̘̮͓̼͉̭̥̘̦̤̬̬̥͉̲̓̇̉͊̇̓͒̏͜ͅķ̸̢͕̮̠͚̞̩̭͖̥͓̹̮͓̮̪̯͖͓̏̋̂̋̊̈̈́̚͜ͅ ̶̡̡̨̛̝̠̞̙̤͕̫̼͍̱̮̥̠̻̬̗̫̿͆̇̅̈́̋̏͆̀̈̾̂́̚͜͝͝w̸̡̭̥͓̪̬͉̰̦͈̙͕͔̘̫͖̎͑̾̍͝į̶̦̯̹̜̹̩̳̫̹͕͒̾̔̃̑̇̌̃̏̂̕ţ̷̮̰̞͎̠̖̫̺̫̞̜̜͉͓̲̗͑͛̓̅͒͋̆͆́̓̐͗͛͝͝ͅh̴̨̢̰͈̠̩͙̭̏́̿̒̐̅̅̒͝ ̸̧̭͇̥̻̱̟̝̱̟̮̌̿̒͐̓̓̍̎͗͂̌̏y̷̦̥̗̥̫͖̝̹͖̪͋̈́̾͋͑̈́͗̈́͑̂͂̍̂̔̾̄̍̌̽̕͜͝͝͝ơ̶̧̧̠͎̻͓͔̪̠̺̖̹͔̘̜̤̒̽̆̒̑̍̓̉̎̄͂͠͠ų̴̝̺̜̩̥͎̅͂̄̋̊͊̎̕.̷̢̧͓̤̠̫̠̜̯̠̱̞͓͇̻̬̬̼͋̔̏̀̍̊̽̑̚̕"̷̢̢͓̃͝</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A piercing scream cut through the air.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Then, darkness.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry, Juby." I heard a voice whisper, "There's still time."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"-Professor? Are you okay?" I shot up, gasping for breath. </p><p> </p><p>Linhardt stood over me, concerned.</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, shakily nodding.</p><p> </p><p>"I, uh," I swallowed, "Yes. I'm fine."</p><p> </p><p>Linhardt sighed, "You woke me up from my nap with your muttering."</p><p> </p><p>"I was muttering?"</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, yawning.</p><p> </p><p>"Indeed. Now I feel sleepy again..."</p><p> </p><p>Linhardt walked away as I sighed, placing my head down against the cool wooden surface of the table.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Why is this happening to me?</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>PROFILE:</p><p> </p><p>NAME: JUBILEE "JUBY" CHEN</p><p> </p><p>AGE: FIFTEEN</p><p> </p><p>SEX: FEMALE</p><p> </p><p>FAMILY: JOSHUA(?) </p><p> </p><p>BIRTH: APRIL 17, (?)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>D̵̠͙͚̻̂͐̾̑̆̌̈Ě̴͍̼͈͛̅͜ͅA̵͙̫̤̫͕͓̽̏Ţ̷̨͍̼̰̟͔̫̱̟̲̬̼̅̒͊̚͜H̸̰̰̉̊͂̂̅̿̔̇̉̈́̓̐̉̕: (?)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The next chapter will be out soon! Enjoy this mini-chapter.</p><p>And remember...</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>b̷̨̢̧̡̡̧̧̡̨̨̨̛̛͙̮̝̻͖͍̖͚̳͖̖̞͙͚̘̹̝̪̦̤̲̮̪̞͎̦͔͍̗͈̯̙͍̬͖̜̤̬̙̻̘̖̣̝̣̝̯̣̳̳̟͙̭̗̱͉̜̼͕̘̻̙̟̳̫͓̥̯͇̯͉̼̮̐̌́̏̽̈́̈́̇̎͑͑͗́̋͊̍̂̅̀̎̋̃̊̊̈́͐̃͋̑̈́͒̀̊͊̃̔̋̐͒͗͋̏̏̋͛͊͌̐̾͂̀̊̽̓̾̾̑̾̄͐̎̿̾̂̓̽͑̽̍̏̋̈́̾̓͊̒̓̅͆̊͗̐̎̎͋̌͊̿̽̀̀̊͗͌̂̾̈́͛͛̓͘̚̕̕̚͘̕̕̚̚͠͝͝͠͝͠͠͝͝ͅͅͅE̵̡̧̛͉̘̫̲͇͕̦̦̳̯̤͚̠̙̺̰̺͉̠̞̤̳̺̙̻̙̼͕̰͇̱͔̠̺̠̖̮̝̝͛̈́͗̊͐͋̾̓̉͌̄̃̔̄̀͆̋̽͋̋̑̍̈́̏̈̔̌̇̈́́͊̃̾͐̏̑̾̈̊̈́̌͂̎̕͘͘̕͘͝͝͝͝͠͝ͅw̴̢̡̧̢̨̨̛̛̬̞̩͕̙̳̣̥̮̙̺͙̬͙̙͓̤̮̫̗̯̫̝̭͍̫͎̪͍̘̭̠̞̪̦̘̟͎̦͖̣̬̲̭̦̲̗̥̺̤̜͕̣͔̞͉͓̻̹̹̤̱͎̪̝̯̞̙̟̭͇͔͔̗̬̖̥͖̰̺̹̙̬͉͍̟͈̬̝̦̠͕͕̱̐̐͊̎͊̐͂̊̈́͋̌̇̓̋͂̎̂͐̃̋͆̉̊̔̽͑̈́̀̍̅̍̈́͑̌͆͗̆͂̅̓̔́̄̈̂̾͛̓̾̊̾̽̐̎̂̿̋̿͐͆̋̐͋͐̀̿͂͐̿́̍͗̓̐̇̊͒̽̔͗̈́͂̅̈́͒͒̈̍͑̐̀̃͌̂͛̒͂̐̉͘̚̕̚̚͘̚̚͘̚̚͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅÅ̷̧̢̧̡̨̨̧̧̨̧̢͎͇̤̫̩̻͍̠̩̦͔͕͇̻̯̭̻̱̼̤̤̰̮̩̥͈͇̳͖̲͉͈̰̜͉͓̠̗̬͖͓̤̺̘̹̥̤̩̦͚̗̜͇̦͕̙̲͎̠̞̪̖̝͚͉͔̳͈̱͇̝̳̯̫͎̩̟̊̉͗́̋̈́͛͗̈́͐͑̿̅͘̕̕̕͜͜ͅͅͅͅͅŗ̵̢̧̢̢̧̡̢̧̢̨̧̧̨̨̛̛͍̳͕̲̯̤̪̺͔̳̻̺̘͎͚̱͖̟̖̻͙͉̙͔̙͚̠̺̞̙͖̘̻͙̹͔̺̲͇͈̱̣͇͕͓̳̻̗̝͍̬̩̜̱̱̣̞̯̱̩̪̰̰̲̳̹͇̲̝͔͔̺͙̦͕̪̞̣̺̳̤̘̮̝̺̣̬͓̥̬̖̼͉̮̤̗̦͍̦̤̳̞̺̪̭̺͔̪͓̝̤̥̘͓͓͖̙̹̞̰̫͍͚͖͇̗͔̰̖͖̺͕̣̦͔͚̯͎͍̱̘̖̐͐̾̿̃͗̈͊́̒͋̂̏͒̃͂̎̐͛̓͋͒͆͐̉̈̑͗͋̎͗̔̀͘͜͜͜͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅe̵̡̨̡̧̡̨̼͖̩͇͎̝̬̭͕̗͇̝͈̲̮̲̺̘͇̪̻̻̦̘̯̦̮̠̲̮̙̥̣̹̞̹̺̭͉͙̟̱̟̹͓͙̘̮̺̹͖̹̖̯̝̱͓̤̼̖͙̤͍̜̼̰̞̥͕͉͇̘̮̺̟̺̰̟̻̪̣̹̤̤̖̙̝̘͚͈̰͇̭̹̟̙͓͓͔̫̲͓̱̭͎̻͙̘͇̬͂̃̈̊̎̈́̑̈́̆̏̅͜͜͜ͅͅͅͅ ̵̧̧̨̡̢̢̘͚̜̫̳͇̥̝̲̭͎̟̺̞̙̖̯͇̲͍̞̭̭̟̯̰̣̱͇̺͙͙̝̰͇̭̪̖̦̱̳̮͔̠̜̜̪̘̗͊̃̑̇́̌̔͋͑̊̆͛́̀̂̉̆̅̏̏̓̓͌̇̓͌͒̈͒̓͑́͘̕̕̕͘͜͜͜͝͝ơ̵̡̧̨̡̨̧̨̨̡̡̨̡̧̢̢̡̢̢̨̡̝͓̰̟͍͔̦͎̠̯̳͔̪̞̪͙̺͈͓̞̖͎̥̺̝̝͇̩͖͎͚̻͕̥̻̟̞͎̠̙̥͔̺̲̻͍̞̼̯͇͍͉̱̯̳͈̭̥̮̖͙͉̻̗̫̼͖̬̜̲̻̱̥̠͉̩̺̞̬̪͓͕̪̻̰̮͇̱̫͔͕̬̭̗̖̼̬͔̜̠͙̦̭̙̞͖͎̳̳̝͚̲̤̩̙̱̳̥͉̳̰͖̦̻̤͎̹͓̪͓̼͕̥̬̤̘̺̭̹̦̜̹͉̼̱̪̙̜͇͐̿͋̈̑̏̿̑͊̈́͛̏̋̋̂̓̔̍̽͗̃̅̎̔̿̋̏̎̋͒̑͊̽̔́͑̈́̿͂̈́̀͑̌̿̉̿̌͗́̈́̌̚̕̕͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͠͠ͅͅͅF̵̛̛̲̘̭̝̗͙̞͚͔̰̗̦̟̳͔͕̥̪͍͚̘̞̩͋͑̇̿̽́̀̏͗̈́͌͆̈̏͋̓͐̇̊͛̂̌̃̈́͗̿̉̆͒̿̽̀͆̍͋͑̈̿̅̈́̋̉̆̑̉̽̈́̅͑͊̄̀͊̉̑̌̊͋̅͆͊͆̑̄͛̓͊̃̆̾̊̋͂̃̐̒̿͑͂̂͐̀̌̏̐̆̊̇̓͆͆̃̈́̑̿̑͋̃̏̋̌͒̊̃̉̾̂̾̓̾̓̓̿͆̄͐̂͊̈́͂̓̊͐̍̿̀͐͑͂̓̔̾̊̽͗̿̊͂̑̽͛̈́͋̚̚̚̕͘͘̕͘͘͘͜͝͠͠͠͠͠͝͝͠ ̴̡̨̨̡̨̢̢̨̨̢̢̨̢̢̨̡̛̛̛̛̬̙̬̱̞̜͚͔̳͇̪̙̝̦̹̼̠̞͇͈̺̗̣̲̣̺͓̣͖̲̬̗͈͕̞̪̮̼̦͚̖̳̱̰͚̰̖̺̮̙̹͔̙̣̼̰͎̝̳̙͕̠͙͎̭̟̠͎͓͕͎̻̣̲̺͍͕̰̰͉̱͙̭̺̩̲̺͙͙͓̝̤̫͚̤̫̣̙̬͓̗̟̲̱̪̠̲̺͇͎͓͈̣͉̤̖̯̹̫͈̰͇̫̪̼͇̟͙͍̣͔͈̠̻͍̠͕͉̩̠̳̜̤̫͙̦̱̗̹̤͂̓̋̈́̂̄̆̾̇̇̽̉̇͊̉̿̉̿̍͊̌̈́̑̂͐̆̄͊͒͛̒͆̔̆̄̉̽̈̊͊͛̍̀͑̒̏͆̈́̓̑̆͂̑͒̂̅͒͛̔̊̒̇̒̈͌́̐̐̃̃̑͋̈̑̆̔̏̎̽̃̈̇͒͗͑̓̀̏̓͑͂̄̉̒̄͊͛̏̎͘̚̕͘̕̚͘̕̕͘̚͘͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅa̸̧̨̡̧̨̡̡̛̛̛̛̛̛̦͇͍̲̮̻̞͓̲̝̯̹̖͔̙̜̜̙͍̫͖̰̣̰̙̱͚̫͔̮̮̖̼̱̫̪̼̪̭͚͖̦̞̖̙̲̒̇̂͐̉͂̓̋̉̃̀̔̄̊̊̋̊̓̔̒̇̋̿̂̂̒̎̉͊͌͒̃͊̉͌̌̑̐̃͑̄̿̈́͐̊̂̅̿́̂̒̑͋͂͐͆̌̉͂̔͋͛͊͗̽̓̋͋̈̓̀͛͊̔̊̂͂̃̅̎̒̌͗̽͆̇̓̄̌̍͛̉̋̈̃̒̎̋̒̊̓́̔̅͋́͌̓̑̇͐̎̀̉̑̍̃͘̚̕̚̚̚͘̕̚̚̕͜͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅĻ̸̡̧̧̨̢̨̡̧̛̛͓͖̘̝̣̤̘̠̰̹̦̪͔̣͎̪͎̺̖̩̻͕̼̱̦̞͙̘͇͎̮̲̥̝̲̭̙̙̹̬̖͎̣̪̰̲͍̝̟̲͎̬͍̪͇͓̜̬͍͕̝̻̤̼͖͈̻̪̪̣̻̳̯̗̼͔̱̘̭͉̣̣̰͖̣̖͍͍̞͎̲̺̮̠̘̗͔̮̝̫͚̲̼̦̳̮̺̭̪̻͔̥̖̭͍͛̉̊̉̑͂͗̍̈͒͑̋͆̽̒̽̃̾͐̑̊̒͛̒͋̇͌̄̉͆̾̄̃̾̿̽͛̅̊̈́͑̈̌͌͌͗̌̇̎͆͋͒͋͌̃̐͗̐͒̓̚͘̕̚̕̕̕̕̚͜͜͜͠͠͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅl̸̡̢̬̱̭̘͎̺͍͓̙̝͔̩̜̜̫̦̜̞̫̪̙̪͈͔̻̝̠̣̻̹̖͕͍͕̝̘̫̭͓͈̮̘̺̼͎̞̣͎̱̮̪̤̦̳̤̃͗̓̇́̇͂̓͆̾͌̆̈́̓̑̾̋͆̅̃͐̃͊̂̿̔͐̇̒̑͘ͅͅ ̶̢̧̢̢̨̧̛͕̣͇̥̹̼̩̗̦̼͇̭̝̫̬͖͙͙̤̝͇͎̻̣̲̦̞͈͓̼̰̣̬̲̘͕̻̰̠̝̥̩̳̼̱̳͉̮͍͉̲̪̮̬̩̲̥̙̳̘̺͉̣̟̬͇͈͈̙̳̯̟͙͚̗̓̉͐̇̌͊͐͒̅̌̒̄̌̇̽̆͊̅̄̑̊̾̈͆̾̀̐̐͗̽̆̔̿̈́̃͂̎̋̐̎̀̂͑͂̌̔̉̈́̾̄̒̈́͆̒̑͆̉͊͑̀̈̈́̓̽̄̊͌̅̒̓̾̽̋̌̏̊̆̇̕̚̚̕̕̚̚̚͜͜͜͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝g̸̡̨̧̨͕̱̰͖̭̺̙͓͕͔̟̬̟̠̱̻̹̙̝͖̰̺͓̤̹̟̣̮̪͔̫̀̈́̇̎̿̾̓̔̈̃̑͊̈́̅̓́̈̿͗̅̏͑͌́͝ͅL̸̢̢̧̡̨̧̢̧̢̨̡̧̧̛̛͖͕͈̱̫̥͎̩̝̤̤͇̭̙̻̳͎̙̩̳̱̩̮̳͎̫̺̬̺͚̣̹̻̦̖̤͇̩̘̭͔̹̹͕̮͍̖̤͉̹̳̥̰͎̖̖̝̖̻̥͓̗̼̠̱̦̺̩͚̠̺͇͈͓̻̙̞͚̺̤̺̠̟̟̲̻͙͉̼̝͚͙̖͓̼̮̬̙̘͙̩̑̋́̊̀̊͐̔̅͌͂̒͊̆̐̑́̕͜͜͜ͅͅͅͅͅǐ̴̡̡̡̢̡̢̧̧̡̡̡̢̧̨̢̨̢̢̡̧̡̡̨̼̱̲̞̳͈̬̙̖̫̺͎̻̙̺̯̻̙͈̖̮̺͕̱͈̳̻͇̫̘͓̬̙͚̪̼͉̬̱͔͇̮̘͎͚͓̹̖̞̫͔̘̥̖̯̲͓̤͚̲̠̹͙̺̱̜̹̫͉̳͚̠̼̩͇̪̣͓̟̳̖͓͚̙̹̹̦̠͉͒͆̍̄͒̎̎̒̃̅̉̐̆͋͛͑͑̋̉͑̀̊̓̈̐͌͒̽̓̊̈͛̓̉̈́̊̉̆̋̎̾̈́͋́̿̍̎̎̈̍̿͂͐̏͒̍̚̕͘͜͜͜͜͠͠͝͝͝͠ͅT̸̢̢̡̡̡̨̨̧̡̡̨̛̛̛̗̗̳̘̤̳̰̤̞̫̖̩̺̼̗̰͈͓̼͈̯͔͖̹̤͔̳̳̲̬̯̺̟̣̻͍̝̰̺̞̙̰̲̬̳̤̖͕̗͍̺̟̬̲̩̱̥̩̰͎̰̹͉͇͓̞̳͙̯̲̹̠̜̦̝̟̥̠̪̜̪̖̥̠̩̹̹̬͓̫̲̣̟̣̫̼̘͙̲͇̮̰̥̹̰̬̥̦͔̺͉̞͙̥̫̗͖̲̬͖͍͇̝̫͉̹̪͙̄̌̅̋͌̆̊̑͐͒̍̍̽̉̉͂̔̃̈́̓̈̾̈͒̅͗̈́̃̿̓̔̃̓͊̂̎̊́͂̋͌̃͆̇̈́̎̄̈́̈̐̃̊̊͗̐͌̇̓͊̎̿̀̑͊̎͑͋̀̌̈́̉̄̈́̅̈̽͐̑́͊͐̄̓͆̾̓̀̀̿͑̅̒̓͐̽̐̀͋͋̍̿̎͗̅̅͘̚̕̚͘͜͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅc̸̨̨̧̢̢̡̨̧̧̧̧̡̡͈͙͓͕̪̰̠̟͚͇͔̲̻̳͔̯̭̜̘̰̭̞͕̫̲͔̱͙̮̬̪͇͔̹̬̩̙̼̯̝͍̻͈͎̜͕̩͙̟̟̣̺̩͚͉̮͖͈͈̙͔̳͇͍̻̰̫͉͕͈̼̭̲̯͉͕̘̪̦̹̬͈̗̺͔̤̭̹͉̟͉͕̮̯̣̜̣͕̱̹̲̫̱͔̠͓͙̟̩̼̥̥̟̞͔̒̈̑͋̈́̐̍́̌̇̌̍̃̆͒͛̀̀̉́̔̾̑͗̈́͗͋̔̍̈́̍̊̔̈̑͐̒̄̀̆̇̃̋͂͋̑̈́̇̑̿͗͋̃̍̐̑̈̃̈̾͆́̉̉̽̐̈̌͛̄͐͒͑͂̐̂̆̀͒̽̎͛̋̒̏̾̓̃̂̉̇̉͋͊͂̌͊̅̓̏͒͘̕͘̚̚̚͘͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅḨ̴̢̨̡̨̢̧̡̡̛̛͇͍̮̝͇͓̮͇̯̘̭̣͍̦͔̣̰̟͎̤̣̮͖̮̼̯̪͉̗͎͍͕̝̙̘͔̘̮̲͔̼͔̩̼̖͓͉̪͇͎͊͒̆̆̔̋̏̀̿͌̑̃́́̈̀̉̿̎̃̓̒̈́͒̽̊̔̽̓̏̔͗̆̍̍̈́͋͑͐́̈́͐̔̂̏͑̅̓̂̉̽͌̐̆͑̀̋͑̅̊̒́͛̋͘̕̚̚͝͝͝͠ͅě̶̢̨̨̧̧͔̠͖̝̹̪̥͇̖͉̘͎̲͙̻͈͎̠͔̜̲̻̲̩̰͎̮̙̫̪͍͍͓̥̬̪̘̭̤͓̠̤̘̜̟̱͚̱͇͇͔͈̣̣̻̩̭͍͎̳̞̳̮̣͈͉͚͓͔̣͙̯͍̗̱̦̙̖̣̤̰̤̘͔͚͚͙͖̦̯̬̝͍̤̼̰̫͐̓̊̉̏̃͐̆̊͂̐̾̆͂̐͛̂̇̉̕͜͜͜͝ͅͅͅS̴̡̡̡̧̡̡̧̨̧̧̨̨̧̬̫̥̮̻̬̠̱̹͎̳̥̦̜͇̻̪̣͔̩̠̭͓͙̝̘̟̖̰̮̳͇̗̣̘̯͔̰̮̺͍̣͈͔̺̺̞͔̼̯͇̗̜͎̣͕͙̙̞̞̣̼͈̤̲̞͎̭̠̼͇̜͓̼̦̮̱̠͕͓̗͈͙̲͎̗̖̬̠̰͖̟̼̣̰̭͇͓͖̪̼̻͒͑́͑͗̓̅͂̈́̈́̐̔͐͑̏̍̓͒̕̚͜͜ͅ</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Crimson || Azure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The crimson flower blooms in blood.</p><p>The azure moon shines sadly in the night.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for the reads my dudes! :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Blood soaks the ground in which I stand.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hundreds are dying before me, slain by each other's hands.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Thunderclaps in the distance as I cut another one of my former allies down.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He could have been a friend, once upon a time.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Maybe even one of my students.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I want to stop.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't want to fight anymore.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>But I can't seem to stop.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Is that weird? </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>The woman's kneeling before a man.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He has a hand outstretched.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I smile.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Maybe she'll take it?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She hesitantly reaches for his hand...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...And proceeds to throw a dagger into his shoulder.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I stare in horror as the man strikes her through with his lance, killing her instantly.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He pulls the dagger out of his shoulder as he walks away.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I feel numb.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Like a flower that's been plucked all its petals.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm tired.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>S̵͙̭͕̓͛͑̋ơ̶̢͎͂̆̀̌̄̄̅̀́̉̚ ̵̬̟̉̾̐́̎̃̈́̓̀̐͌͘ẗ̷̖̩ǐ̵̦̫͙͙͗̈́͗͐̓͝͝r̷̲͉̟͗̅̒̃̀̕͠ë̸̫͚̘͛̉̍͆̈́̚͝͠d̸̢̡̧̼̣̬͍̙̀̒̌͗̈́͂̈́̚͝.̵̮̟̼̰͖̩̝͖̄͜.̸̫̥͕̙͙̳̫̫̜͖͎̞̖̗̅̔͐̋̽̾̍͘ͅ.̴̢̹̖͙̦͕͎͉̱͇̱̭͇̹̗̎̂͗̌̈͊̊̎̉̌̋́̅̉</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Eight: The Blue Lions [Part_One]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Whelp, it's official.</p><p>I'm screwed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright! So...When I said a few days, I CLEARLY meant a few weeks! Heh, heh...Thank you guys for the kind comments! Honestly, it was you guys that gave me the willpower to complete this chapter, so thank you!</p><p>Thank you graziera for your encouraging words! Also, the guests that gave kudos on this work? Thank you, whoever you all are!</p><p>This chapter is for you guys! I know it's short, but don't worry! Part Two will come out this Friday(I hope.)</p><p>EDIT: Change of plans, it's coming out this Monday! (SORRY!)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>B̶̡̨̡̭͈̰̯̝̰̰̻͕̯̻̖̮͓͕̞̗̝͎̞̥͎͚̤̪̟͇͇̬͆̈́̀̊̇̂͌͐͐̿̽̅͛͛̌͂̐͊̾̓̑̋͝͝ͅE̶̡̢̛͙̮͖̮̤̖͔̪̰̖͖̯̞̯̩̩̳̯̖͒͌̏̀̉̅̾̿̈́̂̊̈̆̑̈́̇̏̓̃̏̐̋͆͊͗̍͌̌͜͠W̸̧̡̧̛̛̺͔͚̥͈̝̻̝̬̘̭͈̭̠̼̘͕͂̑̈́̒̈́͐̈́͗̓͂ͅĄ̶̢̨̠̰͖̱͉̗̪͓̺͈̮̦̤͈͉̭̜̝̘̳̠̠͗̆R̷̢̨̭̱͖͚̹̮̲̬̖̭̳̻͖͉̤̞̙̦̫̣̣̻̮̗͓̟̤̐̌̎̏̒̏̊̓͋̈́͑͊͊̋͋̀̿̎̏͊͊̀̚̕͝͝͝͝Ę̶̻͎̝̝̪̻̻͛̒͛̿̽̔͂̾̅̏͋̏̽͊̊̒̅͊͌͊͆͑̏̎̕̕͘̕͝͝͝ ̵̛͓͎̗͎̖̻͇͇̩͚̥̼̓̍͌͂̎̃̍̌͒͊͝Ợ̷̻̌̐͒͛̂̊͘̕͠͠͝F̴̧͇̤͈͍̮͓̪̘͚̯̺̱̗̏̂̾̐̓̏̇͐͛̃̄͗͊͊̄͗̽̏̾̿̈́͆͋̚͘̕̚͝ ̸̧̡̢̡̗̣̙̞͓̯̳͔̺̺̩̞͍̖̮̩͍̱͙̘̦̝̱̗̲͒̏̒͐͑̑͐̈́̈̇͒͐̿͝͝ͅÅ̷͈̭̣͉̾̍̄͌͑͑̔L̶̨̨̡̧̛̛̰͈̺̟̜̬̹̙̣̞̣̰̝͔̩͖͇̮͇͆̏̄̓̃̓̌̽̂̿̓̅̽̊̿͆͐̿̀̃̈́̽͛̈̒̊̚͜L̷̡̨͙̠̬̲̥̻̩̺̲͇̭̣͎̞̮̭̤̞͇̲̥̅̎̈́̈́̈́́̀̆̒̄͐̄͋̓̆̊͌̀̒̎͌͂̅͘͜͠͠͝͠ ̷̡̧̨̨̛̛̯̟͓͇̦̦̹̹̱̫̖̖̗̭̻̜̬̰͈̔̿̉̈́̂̔́͒̈̃̂̈́̓̒͊̓̑̐͆̕̚͝͝͝ͅG̵̛̜̍͛̉͊̽͌̅͛̈́̈̈́̉̽̂͗̂̈́͒̔̓͂̊̋͊̋͋͑̕̕̚L̵̰͓̙̭̯̦͈̪̲͕̘̹͚͚̦̗͕̰̮̼͗̋̏̈́͆̏͠Ȉ̶̡̖̻̰͔̤̞̙̭̗̗̝͉̦͙̟̠͉̪̻̰̅͊͂̃̃̀͒̆͆̓̓͒̍̑͂̐̑̑͐̚͘̕͝ͅȚ̸̢̨̢̮̻̼͔̠̟̙̩̟̺̼̲̟͇͓͈͎͕̬͖̈́̇̈́͆͂̾͑̔̅͑̐̇̈́̂̐̚͘̚͜C̶̡̱͇͕͎̈͝Ḣ̶̨̢̧̻̰͓͙͚̟̞̦̹͇̬͇͙̳̮̗͖̲͖̍̿͋͜͝Ȇ̷͔̺͇̙̹̌̓̅͆̊̈́̌̾͗͆͌̑͋̆̚̕͝ͅS̴̢̢̹̫͈͙͉̺̜̳͈̹̱̮̠̮͕̅̆͑̏̒͐̃͒͐̾̋ͅ</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(Whoops! Sorry, there was an error in opening this file. Would you like to try and open it again?)</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>W̸̗̔̽̔̌̓͠͠ȩ̷̢̢̹̠͖̉̈̏̓̃͂́̈́̈̈́͌̄̿̆̿̃̑̕̕͠ͅ'̸̢̨̢̡̢̛͈͙̦̫͕̮͍̟̤̭̮͚̮̠͚̦̪͈̤̦̦̩͓̻̈̎͌̔̎̆̈́̌̽́̓̋̏̌̾̎̉͐͜͝ͅr̴̭̗͇͋̓̆͛̐̎͗̔̎̈́̅̇͊̄̊̓̋̃͊̽̓̔̍̓̊͘͝͠͝͝ȩ̵̢̞̬͖̬̲̺̹̱̻̘̮̪̤̥̠̯̃͑̄̊͗̆͒̎̆͒̓̈́͌̋̆̈̅̈́̈͘͝ͅͅ ̵̡̛͕͓̦̯͇͖͕͈̲͔͉̾͌̾̽͊̑̾͌́̒́̂̓̾̾͐͑͛̕͘͝͝l̸̢̛̛͍̬̮̤̟̥͑̀̈̈̐͒͌̐̕͜ò̴̩̠̰̭̪͌̓̈̉̆͝ͅs̸̢̡̢̛̤͓̰̘̪͍̫̥̘̗̪̬͕̝̖̦̼̺̟̰̩̜̭̥̣̦̣͑̈́̀̅͊͋͒͘̚͘͜ͅt̴̡̧̢̫̭̹̩̬̩̮̻͉̺̹̖̬̥͛̽̿̈́͘ͅͅ,̶͖̼̣̭̿̉̿͐̎̏̆͘͝ͅ ̶̢̨̖͎̣̲͖̥͖̬̲̰͚̼̥̻͎͖͉̱̼̱͗̃̋̓̐̔̇̈́̂͛̂͛̎̂̉̆̅̄͐̀̂̎̑̈́̔̍͜͝͝ͅẅ̷͉̖̞̰͇̱͇̬͕̫̘͓̱̱̱̝̰̗̜͎͓̖͚͙̣̭͎͖͖̞̯́̔̓͆̂́͝ȩ̶̡̛̛̛̛̛̹̰̦̖̉̐̋̈̏̈́̄̐̋͌͊͗̽̋͋̏̓̈́͊̀͒̚͜͠͝'̴͚̜͙̻̠̥̳̳͗͒͛̂̋̊͗̎́̄̾͌̿̾̐̓̈́̾̉̄͐͗́͌̿͘͝͝ŗ̷̢̢̨͚̯̣̙̯̦̫̙̙̣̪̲̺̣̙̤͎̭̭̝̼͍̜̈́̌̎̑̈́̈́͜ͅe̶̛̻̫̼̮̦̅̈́̍̾͋̋̎͌́̊̽̋̽̆̂̾͆̇̌̆̕͝ͅ ̵̨̣̖̺͇̝͕̥̯̤̯̍͌̆̈́̆͌̒͊͋̐̒̊̿̈́͒͐͊̌̅̚͘̕͝͠͝a̴̢̛̛̮̠̥̱͓̩̳̦̯̫̱̠̟̪̺̳̱͐́̊͗̀͂̾̑̂͐̅̍̏̌́͝͝l̴̮̳͈͔̣̯̘͈͕̪̻̣̎̎̾̂́͛̌̀̍̇̊̂͐̿̆̔̄̓͐̆͂͗̕͘̚͠͠o̵̡̧̢͉̞͎͙̟͇͉̰̤͈͔̮̤̫̹͚̩͓̭̖͙̹̱̘̩̫͗ñ̵̢̡͕͇͎͚̱͖̠̟̹̤̣̝̹̖̮͙̠̅̋͌̓̈́͂̐̄̈́̃͛͘͜ͅe̴̢̡̡̨͈͈̱̫̺͖̘̗̘̙̬̮͖̬͙̩̬̹̱̳̥̬͂̂̎̄̄͂̅̅͆̾̂̍̊͌̌̀͌͂̚.̸̛̣͇̼̜̜̤̟͚͎̌͌̈́̎̆͊̃͋̓̂̈̓̂̓̑̎͐̈́͊͗̾̽͐̍̈́̕̕͘͝͝</p><p> </p><p> </p><p≯̨̡̣̫͍͖͓̤̦̞̻̪͈̹͖̭͎̠̜͙̊͛̉͌̎̇̀́̅̌͝ͅW̵̢̢̧̛̞͈͉̘͉͇̣͇͔͒͌́̿̌̒͊ͅĘ̸̨̲̭͔̪͕͓̼̞̂̈́̽̒͛̇̀̃͛͊͑̒̀̀̓͐̀̚͜ ̶̡̢̡̹̱̰̟̤͇̤̤̤̜̬͔̤͎̣̳̭̳͙͆̉̎̈́͜͠W̶̡̡͎͚̠̮̟͇̙͉̟̞͚͍̹̗̗͉̫͈̻͕͉̯̞͒͌̄̏͑̆̑͂̍͗̔̏̈́̂̍͐͘͘̚͘͜͠A̶̭͕̭̠̹̞͎̩̐̓͋͆̏̏͒̔͒͒̊͐̏̈̇̔̌̕̚͘͠N̸̡̢̯͔̼̗̹̣̅T̵̢̙̹͓̲̼̯͚̺̳̊̂̄̇̓̈́̄̔̄̀̆̓͆̄͂̈́̍̇͗͐̓̌̈́̄̐̽͒̅̃͝͝͠ͅ ̸̬͈͔̩̝͉̺͎͓̱̏̉͑͒̆̉̄̔̍̐́͘̕͝Ṫ̴̫̺̩̠̩̦͎̆O̵̢̨̧̨̪͕̤̭̮͙̬̗̪͇̮̘͉͓͚͚̺̳̥̮̼̍͝ ̵̢͙͈̥̣͍͉͎̘͍̮̤̣̮̼̗̻͑͗͆̽̉̇̋͊͑͑̔̈́͊̓͑̓͋̆̐̽͗̒̈́̈́͂͗̾̄͋͘͠͝G̷͙͙͇̫̤͖͙̩̟̰̮̙̖͔̼̥͕͕̐͋̓͂̊́̈́̀Ǫ̵̡̢̛͔͍͉̜̙͎͔̞̻̳̱̲͕̳͍̼͇̠͍̻̘̦̩͎̬̱̩̥̀͛̿̍̚͝ͅ ̵̢̲̲͔͔͖̦̗̤̻͕̻̩̿͒̈̒͋̉̂̈́̉̕ͅH̵͕͕̪̲̼̜̜̫̣̻̙͈̻̖̲͓̫͓͍̭̥͖̓͆͒̉̌͂͜͜Ơ̴̢̧̤̲͎̥͚͇̝̭̼̝̦͇̣̘̖͚̣̻͆̃̊͠M̵̨̨͚̠͍̣̺̮̞̹̹̘̣͍̫̖͇͖̺̥̣̤̼̮̰̣͚͙̉̎̒̎̂̎͑̎̎̃̈͒́̓͐̽̈͛̚͘͜͠ͅE̸̹̪͊̐̉̊̐̾̈̅̃̆͋̑̋̈̀̓̌͂̍͘͘͠͝</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[GAME FILE LOADED, OPENING FILE NOW]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>P̶̢͙͓̘̣̦̠̹̤̠̫͍͙͈̮̠̮̙̬͕͇̪̫̊̇̃̎̀͌̊͒͑̐̈́͂̚͜ͅͅl̵̛̫̙̟̙̣͙̫̱͙͇̱͈͔̠̓̂̐̇̈́̎ĕ̷̡̢̢̗̼̲͇͇̲͚̟̘͖̭͇̩͖̲̤͔̱̟̩͚̓͊͗͐̋̒̈́̂̐̆̾͑͜͝͝ͅͅą̷̧͓͕̪͙̝̻͎̖̥͍̩̏̐̒͛̈̊̾͘š̵̡̟̲̜̲͙̬̙͇̪͐͐̅̅̊͘e̴̡̲͓̻͉̱͉̺͒͛̄͑́̀̽̔̉͋̃̈́̆͛̊̈́̌͠ </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was a sunny morning today. Not a cloud in the sky or a drop of rain. If I had been home, I would've probably arrived at school by now, greeting my friends. Unfortunately, I wasn't at school, and I wasn't saying hello to my friends.</p><p> </p><p>Instead, I was heading to my first day of school as Professor Byleth Eisner, and I was NOT prepared at all.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, my god. Okay, deep breaths, in and out, in and out-Oh, who am I kidding, I'm fucked.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It's safe to say that I was panicking, like a lot.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Please, shut up!" </em>Echo groaned, <em>"Some of us are trying to get some beauty sleep!"</em></p><p> </p><p>I winced. <em>Sorry, Echo.</em></p><p> </p><p>If spirits could roll their eyes, Echo was most definitely rolling her eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>"I get that you're worried kid, but panicking is NOT going to help you right now!" </em>She sighed, <em>"Honestly, I told you to start preparing last night! Why didn't you put down that book?"</em></p><p> </p><p><em>The story was too good!</em> I (internally) whined. <em>It was just too interesting!</em></p><p> </p><p><em>"Kid-" </em>Echo sounded worried.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>-And when Loog threw that goat through the window? Priceless! That man may have been insane, but he was fucking funny as hell!</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"Kid-" </em>Now it sounded more stressed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>-Oh, not to mention the angst! And the-</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"KID, LOOK OUT!" </em>She suddenly shouted, nearly making me fall from surprise.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Echo, what-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>THUD!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>My forehead slammed against the doors of the Blue Lions classroom as I yelped in surprise, dropping my books.</p><p> </p><p>"Ow! Damnit!" I shouted, clutching my forehead.</p><p> </p><p>Echo groaned.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I tried to warn you."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I rolled my eyes, standing up and grabbing my textbooks off the ground. Inside the classroom, I could hear students talking. They sounded excited, though I couldn't hear much.</p><p> </p><p>I gulped, taking a few steps back from the door.</p><p> </p><p><em>"What are doing?" </em>Echo questioned, annoyed. <em>"We need to get to class! The students are waiting for us!"</em></p><p> </p><p>A mishmash of feelings swirled within me, making me clutch my textbooks harder.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Hey, Echo?</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"What?"</em> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Do you think I'll be alright?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence.</p><p> </p><p><em>"What do you mean?" </em>She finally spoke, confused. </p><p> </p><p>I looked down,<em> How can I be expected to teach and guide a whole class of students, when I'm no better than them-</em> </p><p> </p><p>Echo cut me off, <em>"None of that bullshit, kid. We're going to be even better Professors than that Hangman guy-"</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's Hanneman, Echo.</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"Whatever! </em> <em>Look, the point is, you're not alone. We're both new in this whole teaching gig! We'll just learn as we go!"</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Really?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yes. Look, are you going to open the door or not?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>With (part) of my confidence renewed, I looked back up at the doors and pushed them wide open. Nervousness and excitement flooded through me-</p><p> </p><p>Wait. Why can I smell smoke?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What the hell?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What the hell," I repeated as gray smoke surrounded me. My eyes watered and I coughed, covering my mouth. "What's going on?!"</p><p> </p><p>The Blue Lions were crowded around two of the desks that-Oh, my god they're on fire. WHY THE FUCK ARE THE DESKS ON FIRE?!</p><p> </p><p>Annette was trying to put out the flames with her Wind magic (It was doing more harm than good, to be honest.) Her eyes darted around, falling on me.</p><p> </p><p>"Professor!" She shouted. Dimitri looked up from where he was batting the flames, relief flooding into his face when he spotted me.</p><p> </p><p>"Why are the desks on fire?!" I shouted, covering my mouth with one hand.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know!" She wailed, summoning another blast of Wind.</p><p> </p><p>Everybody was trying to put out the flames, to no avail. </p><p> </p><p><em>"What are you standing around for?!" </em>Echo screamed, startling me out of my stupor. <em>"GRAB A DAMN BUCKET AND MOVE!"</em></p><p> </p><p>Spotting a bucket lying in the corner, I quickly grabbed it and dashed out the door towards the lake.</p><p> </p><p><em>Is this just my life now? </em>I thought as everyone shrieked in surprise (Yes, everyone. Even Felix, though I'm pretty sure he'll stab me if I tell him.) as I doused the desks in water.</p><p> </p><p><em>"I hope not." </em>Was all Echo said.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>So, uh..." I scratched the back of my neck, chuckling nervously. "I guess you could say that we had a bit of a...<em>firey</em> start."</p><p> </p><p>The two blackened desks in the corner of the room were a reminder of that. At least no one had gotten hurt. (Note to self: Don't let the class practice magic INSIDE the classroom like, ever. Also, put a request in for more desks.)</p><p> </p><p>Felix snorted, "You think?"</p><p> </p><p>Ingrid elbowed him and he scowled "What?"</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, I turned to Annette, who looked away. Guilt was written all over her face.</p><p> </p><p>"It's alright, Annette." She looked up, startled. "I understand you didn't mean to set anything on fire. But in the future, please practice magic <em>outside </em>the classroom."</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, sitting up and smiling. "Okay, I will." </p><p> </p><p>"Good." I turned back to the class, "Now that's over with, I would like to talk to you all about our mission for this month and what we will be doing to prepare-"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>BANG!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Everybody jumped in surprise as the room shook, a loud bang echoing through the room from next door in the Golden Deer's classroom.</p><p> </p><p>I groaned, face-palming. Just when I thought EVERYTHING was fine.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...You've got to be kidding me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What's going on in there?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Another loud bang rang out from the wall as I winced, shaking my head.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...I have a feeling we probably don't wanna know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"AS I was saying," I began, grabbing everybody's attention again. "We will be-"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>CRASH!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Something crashed next door, this time on my left, where the Black Eagles classroom was.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Caspar!</em>" I could hear Manuela shout, <em>"No throwing books-"</em></p><p> </p><p>The rest of the words were muffled and hard to make out.</p><p> </p><p>I inhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose. </p><p> </p><p>"...As I was saying," I spoke, addressing the room again after a long silence. "We will be dealing with a group of bandits who are causing trouble nearby."</p><p> </p><p>Ingrid raised her hand, "I heard about that, aren't they the same bandit group that attacked his highness?"</p><p> </p><p>"Um...Yes." I answered cautiously. "This will be the same bandit group that attacked us at Remire Village."</p><p> </p><p>Annette gasped, "No way! Really?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, "Yes, now I warn you this mission won't be easy. It will be dangerous, and there will be a real threat. These bandits won't hesitate to kill you, so you have to stay on your guard-"</p><p> </p><p>The whole class exploded into noise, talking to each other in hushed whispers and loud shouts of excitement.</p><p> </p><p>I just stood there, at my desk, silently contemplating my life.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>This isn't going to be easy, is it?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Echo snorted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Oh, no kid. It's about to get ten times hard from here out."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It's times like these I wish Echo had a body so I could slap her. </p><p> </p><p>[DO YOU WISH TO SAVE THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>i̸͚̪̯̯̰̮̞̞̰̫̯͛͊̈̒͌͘͠ţ̶̡͙͕͕̣̰͙̘̪͕̤̳͑͋̿̿͋͜'̸̨̯̹̮̠̓̄͗́̍͂̏̿͒̈̕͝͝s̵̨̡̘͔͉̭̖͚̜͉͚͋̆̒͆̄̽̌͑̑̄̈́͜͠ ̷̢̡̨̡͇͇̹͖͕̠̃̓̿ä̵̧͍͚̥̳̯̗̹͚̫̹̺͔́͜͠ḅ̸̛̹̼͗͗̋̓̇̀̿͑̈́͘̚͝͝o̸̩̽̊̔͜ṵ̷̡̟̜̩̰̟̞͉̥̘̫̠͚̗͒̕ţ̵̨̮̰̣͍͕͙͇̲̺͙͕͖͆̀̆̆̐́̐̊̎̈́͘͜ ̶̧̩̭̤̤͓̤̩̗̖̃͗̉̄t̴̨̘̜͋o̴̡̯̘̰̫̩̱̳̫̝̍̽͂̆̈́̂̎͑͆͘͜ ̷̼̭̖̥̑g̶̛̛̪̬͖̲̥̰͚̈́̍̑̓̔̆ḙ̶̫̻̩̻̲͈̭͌̓̈́ẗ̸͔̭͋̂̐͗͑̿͝ ̸̨̙͈̻̫͚͙̲̗̹͖̂̇͑͂̂t̴̟̱̥̤̫̗̱̗̯͍̭͓̼̽̆̄̈́͜e̸̢̢͙͈̹͉̝̟͇̼͖͕̮͊̇̄͛͐́̓͒̐̓̑̂͘n̷̛̘̒͗̿̋̑̃͗̕͝ ̵̢͔̳̝̖̫̜̩̘̊̒̿̀͗̂̈̑̈́̒͌̄͗̊t̶̖̩̲̘̳̟̺͖̓̆̉̉͠i̴̯̳͚̹̖̣̹̹̤̙̞̣̐̋̈́́̽̇̆̃͝͠ͅm̴͓͛̓̂̑ë̴̮̯́̐̏̉͛̋͊̑̈͂̚̚͠s̴̝̺̄̉̉̓̐̓̍͑͛̉̇̈́͛ ̴̨͛̾̋͑̌̒͑͆̀̽̾̍̇̕͝h̴̳͔̬͎͔͚͍̣̘̼̘͓̩̟̥̃̂̐̂̃͆̈́͗̆̀̐̕ạ̶̗͇̜̒̂͂̔̕r̷̛̛͓̻̖͊̌̀̋̽̒̑̈͘d̵̝̩͖͚̱̦̈́̾̏̉̾͛̈́͗͛̀̌̓ḛ̸̬̺͗ŗ̵̢̤̱͉͓͓͖̘̩̏̂̔̈̋́̆͛͊ ̷̥̗͈̺̤͎͇̔̽̈̿̋̆̆̃̈̄͐̎̆̈́͠f̸̲̳̹̦͕̮͈̈́̈́͐̎̑̆̿̕͠͝͠ͅͅr̴̢̮͓͓͕̹̜͕͌ͅö̶̱̭̱̪́̃͒̍͂͗͘m̶̢̨̨̜̹͔̫̯̞̙̬̟̜͚̿̇͒̒͊̈́̐̏̇́̂̌͒̈́͜ ̶̧̣͙͚͗̄̈́̄͋̒͛̃̕ͅh̷̨̛͕̬̗̬̜͍͌͗̂̒̆̈́͌͒̄̆̚̚͠e̵̡̧̛͍͔̝̰̯͉͈̙̟̲̊̾̾͘r̶̠̗͉̗̝̠̹̂̀̇̌̑̃̾͝e̶̳̩̒̐̅̄̌̽͒͒̿ ̶̡͉͚̦̤͔͉̏̽͐̆̎͐̿̓͑̅̃̈́̚͠ö̶͓̰͚͚̮̖͉̪̙́̀̑̓͒̓͒͐̆̋̑͝ư̵̧̨̧̥͓̺̳̙̱̙̥̗̺̽͑̎̏̌͊ͅt̴̺̦͙͗͑̆̾̑̆̿͑̆͆͘͝</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[GAME SUCCESSFULLY SAVED]</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Join me on my Tumblr! It's a little weird, hope you don't mind!</p><p>https://blossom-wormie.tumblr.com</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter Nine: Classroom Chaos [Part_Two]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Okay, this is starting to get creepy. I'm not even half-way through this game yet, and already I'm freaking OUT!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm changing my updating schedule to just Fridays. I'm sorry, it's just...I've been having a few issues and I need some time to figure them out. Sorry. :(</p><p>Also, here's the school schedule for Garreg Mach:</p><p>The first is homeroom, used for strategic planning and mission discussions. Lasts two hours.</p><p>The second is a break period, for 20 minutes. Basically an intermission.</p><p>The third is the second period, with the same teacher. This second period is for training, practice, and battles. It also lasts for two hours.</p><p>Then lunch. Which I guess counts as the fourth period.</p><p>After that, it's the third period. The same teacher again. Professors can use this time for anything. Extra training, study guide, or lecture. It can be used in any way.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[SAVING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>Ņ̴̧̢̛̭̤͚̟̖̪̮͖̳̬̞͓̠̺̪͎̳͎͙̟̮̣̝̙̤͖̘͎̣̙͈͙̯̰̦̖̹͕̝̈̈̓̑͗O̸̡̗̥͎̥͚̻̙̦̙̝͆̓̀̓̓͜,̶̧̡̱͖̹̱̖͚͇̥̭̜̙͈͈̬̙͕̻͙͓̥͎̙͈̘̬̺̗͈̟̼̏͆͊̓͆̓̓͗͌̆̓́͌͒͛̐̒̅̑̄͗̏͆̌͂͘̚͝͝͝ͅ ̵̧̢̡̛͉̫̘̜̤͔̤̭͕̱̰̇̄̔͂̓͆̆̅́͂̆̔̒͗̾̂̉̇̇̂̊̅͗̈̍̋̋͌̀̋̽̓̑̕͠͠͠ͅN̷͍̙̥͔̮͉͑̿́̇͌̕͘͜͝Ǫ̵̡̧̘̫͕̦͈̺̰̬̹͈͖̥͇̜͚̦̬̰̯̳̭̯̦̗͙͈̞̠̪̬̦̏̅͑̆̅̐͋̑̂͘T̸̢̢̧̗̮͍͔̼͉̫̞̟͔̱̙̞̩̫̤͇̱̹̥̪̗̦͈͒͆̃͐̄̃͜ͅ ̶̡̨̳͓̥̻̰̘̪̻̤͔̥͚̰̪̲͈̤̾̿͑͗͊̀̈́̍̆̎̔̆͌͋̃̇̽͛̈́̄̉̃̐͊̚̕̕̕͘͜͝ͅY̷̛̛͈̰͇̟̬͖͕͎͕̤̰̫̩̗͉̜̜͇͚͎̩̙̗͇͙̼̩͌́͗̏̃͆̉̔́̌̾͊̚̕͘͜͠͠͝E̶̡̪̣͕͍̠̦̝̭̥̋̀̊̾͐̊̈͋̈̉̌̀̌͒͝ͅṰ̵̡̡̡̡̨̨̬̗̖͙̯̲̲͎̯͕̹̰̩̼͕͉̪̫̯̗͈͔̗͚̠̜͈̺͔͚̥͇͇̊̀̀͆̎̒̍͜͝!̶̛͎͇̬̼͖̮̼̣̮̑̒̒͒̿́̔̏̇̌̌̓̔̓͋̂̕̕̚͝͝͠</p><p> </p><p>[ERROR, SYSTEM; CANNOT COMPLY]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>T̷̨̢̢̢̬̯̦͈͖͚̗͓̲̯̠͍͎̠̫̻̼̦͓̙̣̘̰͐̆̾̓̿̆̍̋̑̿́̇͌͂̓̌͌̓̋̾̿̄͋̀͋͝͝͝͝͝͝U̴̡̧̢̢̞̤̯͉̹̳̞̘̰͓̖̱̠̙̙̻̯̩͑̎̓̓͊̈́̈́̍̈́͋̃̌̂̽͊͗͐̚̕͠͝͝R̶̢̧̛̬̟͉̯͈͎͕͉̭̹̺̳̭̮͖͔̔͗̾̄͂̅̊̈́͗̒̉͆̂̀͑̈́͑̇͗̓̀͌̆̐̋́͗̋̎̽̚̚̚N̵̢̠͎͉̪̲̹̮͉̰̩͈͕̩̱̼̱̳̲͎̼̠̰͎̯̣̬͙̗̭̽̓̆̿̈́͑͂̏̉̔̂̓͌̐̿͑̿̀̽̒́̇͌̾̋̑̆̾̚͜͠͠͠͝͠ ̷̧̣̲͉̥̪̺̩̱̪͔̥̬͖̙̮̬̗̼̮̺͖̟̩̳͓͔͈́̌͊̐̋̐̂͗̎͑̃͜͝ͅB̷̧̛͙͆̓͒̐̅͊̈́̓̓́̈̊͊͒̉̓͋̇̉̽̉̄̾̂̈̈́̾͘̕͝͝͝͝͝A̷̡̟̠̦̞͊̿̏̊̓̂͌͒͌͒͆̇̇̈͗̂̈́̔͛̽̈́̚͝͠͝Ç̶̜̱̟̬̲͓̤͍̹̫̲̪̻̪͈̜͉̪̺̖̯̖̓̍̈́̀͊ͅĶ̸̤̩̮̝̥̫̙̟̘͚̟̲͎̦̟̲̭̠̰͔̪͓̳͊̾̋̈́̇̐̈́̂̈́̏͌͌͋̑̈́̍̑̇̉̈́̈́̽̑̋͋̈́̊͆̓̓͆͊͗̕̕̚͜͝͝</p><p> </p><p>N̸̛̜̖͕͉̫̾̈̓̽̐́̑̅̽̍͂̔̀̓̈̿̉͋͊̏͆̈́̚̚̚͝͝O̵̡̥̣͓̫̰͍̱̫̝͇͓̭͔̭͈̔̿̓̊̒̔͊͆̽̓̊̾͑͌̕̚͘͝ͅͅ</p><p> </p><p>[OPENING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>(Not really) Day One, I have nothing better to do, so decided to write in this spare journal I found. I always did want to start a diary someday, maybe this is my chance.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Today was my first day on the job, and I'm gonna be honest: I don't think I'm cut out for this.</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b> <em>Hour One Of Teaching: How bad can this be-OH, MY GOD WILL YOU SHUT UP?!</em> </b>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"I'll be using this board to help keep track of your goals, so I don't forget-"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>CRASH!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"...As I was saying, so I don't forget-"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>BANG!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What are they doing in there, Professor?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>BOOM!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Where did you get that, Claude-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>BAM!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"...I don't think we wanna know, Ashe."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Hour Two Of Teaching: I'M NOT DYING TODAY, BITCH!</em></strong>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Okay, so if we are going to succeed in our mission-"</p><p> </p><p>"Gah!"</p><p> </p><p>"THERE'S A RAT!"</p><p> </p><p>"Shit, WHERE?!"</p><p> </p><p>"IN THE CORNER! SOMEBODY GET IT!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Are you serious-Kid, no! YOU DO NOT NEED YOUR SWORD FOR THIS!"</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When the first period ended, I had a dead rat (No, Echo. IT'S NOT A MOUSE!) in the corner, a very messy and sloppy list of student goals on the chalkboard, and a weird craving for cheese. (I'm hungry, okay?!)</p><p> </p><p><em>"One damn rodent!" </em>She was shouting, furious. <em>"You stopped class halfway for a mouse?!"</em></p><p> </p><p>Oh, yeah. There was also a pissed-off spirit guide in my head, too.</p><p> </p><p><em>It was huge! </em>I protested, rubbing my temple. <em>You saw it! It was totally a rat!</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Whatever." </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed. Now I understand <em>why </em>Eraserhead carries a sleeping bag with him 24/7. (That's a My Hero Academia reference. Watch it, it's good.) I would be pissed all the time too if I had to teach six classes. Thank god I only have three, and with the same class too.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Well, if it makes you feel any better kid."</em> Echo started, <em>"I think you chose the most well-behaved class out of all of them. If what we heard earlier means anything."</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I guess.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It was difficult trying to teach with all of the noise coming from the other classrooms, but somehow I managed to get something out of it.</p><p> </p><p>"Professor?" I turned around. "Oh, hey Mercedes. What's up?" </p><p> </p><p>I cringed at that. <em>What'sup,that'swaytooinformal! Byleth'supposedtobecoldandemotionlessbutI'mnotBylethsoIcan't-</em></p><p> </p><p>"-And I'm not quite sure what should I do. So that's why I came to you for advice."</p><p> </p><p>I blinked, <em>Ah, shit. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>SHE JUST ASKED A QUESTION! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE ASKED! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Kid, you're muttering."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Professor?"</p><p> </p><p>I flinched, "Oh, uh, I think you should just go with what you think suits you best?" I said, crossing my fingers tightly.</p><p> </p><p>Mercedes looked thoughtful for a moment, "I see...Then, in that case, I guess it won't hurt to try Brawling."</p><p> </p><p>Echo choked (Can spirits choke on air? Cause that's what it sounded like.)</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What...?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I nodded. I could feel the headache coming on. "Yeah, sure! I'll go write it down on the board!"</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, giving me a small wave. "Thank you, Professor! Now I have to find Annie." She walked out the door, leaving me alone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Well, fuck.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You said it."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, I got off my desk and walked to the chalkboard nearby. I quickly wrote down Brawling next to Mercedes's name, along with Faith.</p><p> </p><p>"Guess Mercedes is gonna be a Brawler," I muttered. "It can't be that bad, can it?"</p><p> </p><p>Knowing my luck, I had a good 50 to 40 chance of this turning out good.</p><p> </p><p>So by those standards, I'm screwed.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Hour Three Of Teaching: Whoever did that gets detention!</strong></em>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Remember, guys. No holding back-"</p><p> </p><p>"Duck!"</p><p> </p><p>"Where?!"</p><p> </p><p>"No, dumbass! DUCK!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>TWIP!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Where the hell did that arrow come from?"</p><p> </p><p>"...Was that Leonie I saw running off?"</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Hour Four Of Teaching: Ah, fuck. I can't believe you've done this!</em></strong>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>SWOOSH!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Look out!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>CRASH!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, no..."</p><p> </p><p>"Uh. Don't worry, Annette! Everything's going to be fine!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"THERE'S A HUGEASS HOLE IN THE WALL!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>We're on the training grounds, it's fine-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"NO, IT'S NOT!"</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><em>"Great, job kid." </em>Echo said in a flat tone, annoyed. <em>"You got your class kicked from the training yard."</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Cut me some slack, I didn't know Annette's magic was THAT strong!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I plopped down into my seat, sighing. (I find myself doing this more and more often lately.) </p><p> </p><p>The Dining Hall was filled with food, students, and noise. Each of the three houses was sitting at there own separate tables. The staff had one to themselves too, so that's where I was sitting. There were also knights walking around the room too, I was sitting just across from some.</p><p> </p><p><em>Ugh, man. </em>I took a sip of my soup. <em>So far, it's been about a...month since I've arrived here? </em>I nearly gagged at the taste. Oh, my Irene. (Yes, that was an Aphmau reference.) What kind of a monster would put <em>fruit</em> in a beef stew?!</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Maybe a little less than that." </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I pushed away my tray. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore.</p><p> </p><p>Almost a month had passed since I arrived here, and I still had no clues or answers for why I was here. Echo was avoiding my questions and Sothis was still silent, which was weird. She should have shown up by now, so why hasn't she?</p><p> </p><p>More importantly, what happened to Byleth? Did she die? Is she asleep like Sothis? I read a fic one time where that happened. (It's called no dialogue options, you should read it! It's what inspired me to write this fic! Also, please give the author more kudos. They deserve it for all their hard work.)</p><p> </p><p>Something must have happened to them for me to be here, but what? I suddenly felt dizzy and clutched the table for support. I cursed, <em>Goddamnit.</em></p><p> </p><p>"Oh, there you are!" I looked up. Manuela was smiling down at me with Hanneman by her side. "How did your first day go?"</p><p> </p><p>I groaned, rubbing my forehead. </p><p> </p><p>"Terrible, huh?" She groaned, sitting down next to me. "Just be glad you don't have Caspar in your class."</p><p> </p><p>I frowned, "What did he do?"</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, "He and Ferdinand got into an argument with each other. Then, one thing turned to another and next thing you know they're throwing their textbooks at each other! Can you believe it?! Just after my date too..."</p><p> </p><p><em>"So that's what we heard. Yikes." </em>Echo said, wincing. </p><p> </p><p>Manuela angrily bit off a large part of her sandwich, Hanneman sitting next to her, head in hands.</p><p> </p><p>"You think that's bad? Why, today, I had to stop Claude from setting half the classroom on fire!" He groaned, "At this rate, I don't think I'll be able to survive a full year."</p><p> </p><p>The next few minutes were filled with awkward silence as I tried to finish the rest of my disgusting soup (To no avail.)</p><p> </p><p>"Does it ever get easier?" I suddenly asked, the words just falling off my tongue. </p><p> </p><p>"Hm?" Manuela looked up from her sandwich.</p><p> </p><p>I stirred my soup around, watching the bits of meat swirl in the bow. "I mean, does teaching ever get easier? I feel like I'm not doing good enough."</p><p> </p><p>Manuela touched my arm, making me look up in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry. Teaching isn't so bad once you get used to it."</p><p> </p><p>Hanneman snorted. "I believe that would be because of the absurd amount of alcohol you keep in that flask of yours." </p><p> </p><p>"Hey-I don't drink that often!"</p><p> </p><p>The conversation soon derailed into a full-on argument between the two as I turned away.</p><p> </p><p>I stared back down at my soup, watching my reflection in the murky brown liquid.</p><p> </p><p><em>It will get easier. </em>The words echoing in my head, <em>You can do this.</em></p><p> </p><p><em>How? </em>I ask myself. </p><p> </p><p>The question goes unanswered by the time the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Hour Five Of Teaching: Hey, guys-NO!</strong></em>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Hey, guys! Wait, what-"</p><p> </p><p>"Argh, hey Professor-Gah!"</p><p> </p><p>"Felix, please let go of him!"</p><p> </p><p>"..."</p><p> </p><p>"Um, Ingrid! Help me get those two apart!"</p><p> </p><p>"Yes!"</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Hour Six Of Teaching: Oh, thank Irene. It's almost over-HOLY, SHIT! THE RAT'S BACK!</strong></em>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"-So in conclusion, weapon variety is a crucial point if you want to survive <em>and </em>win a battle. Your homework for this week is to write a two-page essay on-"</p><p> </p><p>"GAH!"</p><p> </p><p>"The rat's back!"</p><p> </p><p>"SOMEONE KILL IT!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>DONG! </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>...So, yeah. Pretty shitty first day. I killed a rat, chased another, nearly got shot by Leonie, and accidentally got two students to blow a hole in the training yard's wall. (Okay, that was actually pretty epic.)</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I can't wait to see how next week is gonna turn out. :(</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>This is Juby, NOT Byleth, signing off! UwU</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><p>I put down my quill, stretching my arms. No one's ever gonna be able to read this. Not unless they know Chinese! (Which I highly doubt.)</p><p> </p><p><em>"You tired?" </em>Nodding, I yawned.</p><p> </p><p>Echo chuckled, <em>"Get some sleep, kid. You earned it."</em></p><p> </p><p>I closed the journal with a soft 'plop', storing it away in my underwear drawer. No man was gonna go looking in there (Unless he has a death wish.) Putting my quill back into the inkwell and blowing out my candle, I stood up.</p><p> </p><p>Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I flopped back onto my cot, not even bothering to change into some more comfortable clothes. I could do that later...</p><p> </p><p>Just when I was just about to drift off to sleep-</p><p> </p><p><em>Huh? </em>I lifted my face from where it was nestled against my pillow, looking down in confusion. Feeling around with my hand, I felt something cold, and sharp. I wrapped my hand around it and pulled it out, eyes widening in surprise.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Ngh, what's going on?" </em>Echo asked sleepily.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I just found a knife underneath my pillow. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"Wait, what?" </em>Echo said, sounding suddenly more awake than before.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah, I know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I held up the dagger to the moonlight filtering in through the open windows. Thanks to Byleth's amazing vision, I managed to make out a few intricate designs in the handle. There was a white ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a neat ribbon knot.</p><p> </p><p>Turning it around, I saw a note tied to it on the back.</p><p> </p><p>With shaking hands, I quickly unfolded the note, a dozen questions and scenarios running through my mind. <em>A secret admirer? No, too early in the game for that. A threatening message? I haven't pissed off anyone yet! Maybe somebody accidentally gave me someone else's gift?</em></p><p> </p><p>When I finally managed to open the note, I nearly fell off my cot with surprise.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>To: Juby,</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>This is your only warning. Stop playing games with us.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>-<strike>You know who</strike></em>
</p><p> </p><p>I must have sat there at least for half an hour in horror, staring at that piece of paper, until Echo broke the silence.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...Who would send you this?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I only shook my head.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm not sure!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Well, you better rack your brain for names then! Cause if we don't figure out who sent this-</em>
</p><p> </p><p><strong> <em>We're not going to survive for</em> </strong> <em><strong> long.</strong>"</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm not interested in playing games.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Just so you know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>b̴̢̢̛͙̻͙̹̣̬̦̮̥̘́̃̈́̈́̋̈́̉͆̒͋̉͂͝ͅͅÈ̵͕̩̜̣͓̉́̄̋͐͛̎̆́̓̃̊̚͠ͅͅw̸̨̧̡̛͇͈̞̰̝̖̘͓̬̥͚̱̭̲͖̦͍̄͊̓̇̾̿̋͊̓͆̒͘̕Ą̵̥̠̬̱͖͚̼̩̪̺̯̗͈͉̺̣͙̯͜r̵̢͓̟̩̗̀͂̉̉͐̐̃̍̓̄Ę̶͉͉̱̟̦̬̱͈̙̼̬̾̅͐̏̓̕͠ ̷̨̭͈̻̗͇͓̰̙̥̈́̆͛o̵̡̨̞̟̥̩̫̝̙̝̼̰̻̥̼͍͔̽͐̔̀̈͆̂̉͋͐̓͘̚͜͝F̸̡̛̠̙̭͔͗͐̄̊̅̈́̇͛̈́̚̕͠͝ ̵̡̗̮͍̙̥͓̜͚͕̲͈̥͕̖̰͒͛̎͒̏̊ͅą̴̟̂̅̽̊͐͌̇̓̓͋̏̉̋̃͛̐̏̈̚Ḽ̷̨̛̫̲̯̖͓̋̏̾̇̐͛̀̌͌̕͠l̶̦̞̣͉̞̰̮̫̊̒̿ ̵̡̧̻̦̟̦̙͔̬͑̒̈̅̑̎͆̈́͛͒̾̍̈́͐͐͆͒͘͝g̵̢̛̰̞̥͋́̃͋͌̈́̋͋͌̀̿̒͋͒͐̏̚L̶̡̡̲͈̲͈̻̣͎̮͓̀̀́͆͗̾̑̚͜͝ͅi̷͚͎̞͂̀̊͊̊̏̆̿͝ͅT̷̡̨̛̬̗̯̙͈̮̖̙̯͔̜̼̖͒̅̏̓̓̈̄͑c̷̢̝̮̞̱̪̩̗͎̈́̾͑Ĥ̴̰̺̙̰̣̮̣͕͚͕̥͚͖̥̳̘̙̋́͐̈͑͑̔͊̍̂̀͂͒̆͘̚͠͝e̶̢̢͎̺͙̱͖̙͈̹̘̣̰̼͓̫͈͈̿̎̽̈́̀͗̿̄̊̚͝S̴̗̬͚͔̟͙̾̾͒͐͝͝ͅ</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>MORE MYSTERIES! NO ANSWERS! SO MANY QUESTIONS! </p><p>Also, JUBY HAS A KNIFE NOW! &gt;:D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter Ten: Stargazing And Insomnia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Whelp, that did make me feel a little better. Thanks for that, Jeralt.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for all the reads guys! Enjoy this chapter! Without you guys, I wouldn't have made it this far. :D</p><p>Also, feel free to leave your theories in the comments below! I love reading them!</p><p>EDIT: Yes I changed Mercedes to Manuela. It makes more sense that way.</p><p> <br/>b̸̧̡͕͍̮̥͍̥̗̭̣̣̜̣͌͐͊̽͗͌͝ȩ̷͙̫̮͖̤̫̦̍w̸̡̨̼͇̦͖̱̝̪͇͎̤̘͑͂͗̽̇̂͌͂̓͆̏̚͠ͅą̷̬̗̦͙̫̪̯̻̦̦͂̅r̸̢̛̭͍̳̖͍̥̫̼̈́͆̿̆̂ȩ̴̻̤̤̫͙̓̅̚͠ ̷̢̧̯͔͖͌͐̎̒͌̎̈̚ỏ̸̧͖̺̫͕̰̘͎̝̭͉̗̇̅̄̿̃̎̾̓͊͝f̴̡̤̹̫͉̫͈̭̂ ̶̠͇̟̟̹̜͍͎͈͂̋̂̄̐͑̿̊̒̿̄͘͘͝͠a̶̡̨̛̝̮͙͎͇̗̹͚̲͋͆̇̈́̂̀͂̀̓̌̄͝l̴̛͔̼̘̝̫̻̱̭͉̪͇̉ͅl̸̘̗͙̝͍͊̑͆͋͋̕ ̴͕̈́̄͗̆͊̈͗̓̾̾̕̚͝ģ̷̥͉͈̩̗̜̽͂̑̔l̴͇̀̌̓̑͆̽͊̈̄͗͗̿̕i̶̤͎̣̣̻̼͈̮͘ͅţ̶̮̻̳̤̘͍̬̮͕̘̰͈͔̭̋̂̈́̔̓̌̆̅̍̕͝c̵̨͙̻̲̘̹̩̿̿͝ĥ̴̙̭ę̸̩͎͔̘̠̪͍̘͓͕̥̖̥̽̇ș̷̲̂̓̉̈͑̇̄̉̿̚̕͝</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[7/03/20, DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[DO YOU WANT TO EXIT THE GAME?]</p><p> </p><p>[Yes] {No}</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>W̷̨̧͕͖̯͔̫͗̇́̈́̋͌̀̈́̽̎̔̅͆͜͝ ̷̢̫͈̫̹̖̙̥̥͚͓̗̻̦͓̾̽̅̏̆̈́̈̉̽͘͝͝ǎ̵̛̮͈̭̖̣͚̪̬̥͇̬̱̿̈́͌̏͂̓͌̓͌̐̾̽͜͝į̸̧̲̼̺̥̲̮̙̜̲̩̓̓̾͑ͅt̴̨̟̼͒̏͌̔!̷̡̰̫̪͚̻̯͉̠͠ ̵͚͈͓͙̩̰̻͉͉͚̣̳̄̇̾̎͂̿͑͒̓́ͅD̵̢̙̳̗̺̤͖̣̯̣̙͎̣̙̫̍̈́̈͋̏̊̿̕̚̕͠͝ ̶̢̤̱͉̪͖̻̖̞̞͒̑͋͠ ̸̨̥͂̓̆̌̈́͌͝o̴̡̬̪̠͉̙̲̺̗͎̲̍̾̀̐͊̂͆̈́̈́̑̍͐͝͠ ̵̨̧̥̱͛͝ń̸̢̛̛̘̮̟̙̲͒̑͛̔̀̽͌̄͝͝ ̷̫͎̞̬͖̯̇̈͝'̷̡̢̱̤̦͚̠͇͓̱̙͇̱͈̆̑̄̈́̐͗̈́̒͒̕̕͝ ̴̣̯̥̝̻̙̓̈́̈́͌̊̏͋͋̀͆͊̓͘͝t̷̢̗̰̺͚̣͑̌̍̊͌͐̽̃̃͊̆̃̅͘ ̵̗̬̘͎͕̱̳̟̗͎͈̤͚̝̮͂̃̃̊̒̈́̎̕ ̴̧̥̟̮̩̉̆̏g̶̹̮͉͓̣̮͐͒̒͐̈͒̅͝ ̸̝̖͙̫̟̫͇̭̞̭̯̳͕̖͒͐ͅo̸̯͙͔̣̓̀̔̄̏̌̂̔̎́͜͝ơ̸̧͍̫̜̯͌̎̃̊͐̓̈ŏ̶̧̧͖̺̳̫͉̟̹͖̹̼̦̮̀̓͊͗̋͘o̴͖͉̦̯̪̲̅̍̈̂͆̌̈́͗̍̕͘͘͝ͅ!̴̢̡̧̩͎̗̳̻̼͙̖̦̙͛̉̎̽͜</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[ERROR; THE APPLICATION HAS ENCOUNTERED A CRITICAL ERṛ̸̢͈͎͈̼̪̤̼͈͔̤̃̀̍͋ǫ̶̨͙̗̯͓͖͙̙̩͓̹̞̑̉̽̈́́̈́̄̽͑̚̕̚̕͜ͅr̷̨̠͙̻͎̝̤̬̠̰̰͍̮͋̐̑͑̎̎̈́̊͆̆̅͘͜]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Day Eight, I guess.</em>
  </p>
  <p><em>I did not get a wink of sleep this entire week. </em> <em>I repeat. NO FUCKING SLEEP!</em></p>
  <p><em>Since that damn note showed up, I've been too fucking worried <strike>paranoid</strike> to sleep! I'm gonna go insane at this rate! </em> <em>Oh, and believe me. I've tried everything that mom used to do. </em> <em>Nothing worked!</em></p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><hr/><p> </p><p>I tried warm milk and tea.</p><p> </p><p>I learned the hard way that night that Byleth is allergic to mint leaves.</p><p> </p><p>(Ironic, since she ends up with green hair.)</p><p> </p><p>Even Jeralt didn't know.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Next, I tried meditating. </p><p> </p><p>Figured that if it worked for monks, it would work for me.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately for me, it's <em>really </em>hard to focus on your inner soul when people are snoring.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>So since that didn't work, I figured what did I have to lose and asked Manuela for help.</p><p> </p><p>Why Manuela? I figured that I had a good 50/50 chance of surviving with her if the spell backfired than with...say, Lysithea. (She's an OP mage, but I am terrified of what she is capable of. She took down Rhea in my Crimson Flower run. BY HERSELF!)</p><p> </p><p>She tried casting a sleeping spell on me. A very simple spell, she told me.</p><p> </p><p>Needless to say, it backfired.</p><p> </p><p>...Badly.</p><p> </p><p>All I'm going to say is this:</p><p> </p><p>Magic hates me.</p><p> </p><p>That is all.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p><em>So I just gave up. </em> <em>I succumbed to my fate. (No, Echo! I'm not being dramatic!) </em> <em>I had a very tiring and exhausting month. Made, even more, tiring with the quests and seminars that the other professors made me give to their classes. </em> <em>They thought that since I (By I, I mean Byleth.) was a mercenary, I would have some very handy knowledge to teach 'em.</em></p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>...</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p><em>Yeah, um. I only managed to survive thanks to many hours at the library and Echo's help. </em> <em>Also, cookies. Lots of cookies. </em> <em>The sugar helped kept me going.</em></p>
  <p><em>Jeralt keeps looking at me weirdly. If you ask me, I think he's worried about Byleth's <strike>my </strike>health. </em> <em>Tomorrow's going to be the mission. Wish me luck, I wanna die.</em></p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em>-Not Byleth, Juby.</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><hr/><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p><em>If Mom were here right now, she'd be mad at me for not going to sleep. </em>I thought, twirling a teal strand of hair around my finger.</p><p> </p><p>My only response was Echo's snoring as I sighed, turning on my side.</p><p> </p><p><em>I wanna go home. </em>The thought kept circling through my mind.</p><p> </p><p>Don't get me wrong, Fodlan's nice and all, but-</p><p> </p><p>It's not home.</p><p> </p><p>I missed California. I missed the ocean, I missed eating sushi at my favorite place and watching Penelope swallow down three swirls of wasabi, missed Summer and Charles's bickering, Mom's yelling, Dad's awful jokes, Josh's angry rants...</p><p> </p><p><em>Ugh. </em>I buried my face into my pillow, scrunching up my nose. <em>Don't go down <strong>that</strong> rabbit hole.</em></p><p> </p><p>I wanted so badly to go home and just not have to deal with any of this. </p><p> </p><p>This stupid war, stupid people, and stupid threats!</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>But I had to stay here, though. For the students and for the good of Fodlan.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...But I wanna go home, though.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I groaned again, flopping back on my side. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Why am I even thinking about this?! It's not I can just click my heels and go home. That's not isekai novels work!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sat up, sighing. Turning, I reached for my boots at the side of my bed.</p><p> </p><p><em>Maybe a quick walk will calm me down. </em>I thought, grabbing my jacket off the back of the chair. <em>Or, maybe stargazing. There's no light pollution clouding the sky, so the stars are bound to be beautiful tonight.</em></p><p> </p><p>So with that in mind, I carefully made my way down the stone steps of my quarters to the fishing pier. I strode past the greenhouse doors and ducked behind a crate when I saw Seteth. (He just gives off that...protective parent vibe that kids all know to avoid at all costs.)</p><p> </p><p>Echo was still snoring away in my mind. I'm still not sure how she's able to sleep if she's a spirit. Oh, well. Isekai logic, I guess. Go figure.</p><p> </p><p>The cool night breeze swept over me, making me shiver and wrap my arms around me. (Why does Byleth have this jacket in the first place?! It's not doing a very good job keeping me warm!)</p><p> </p><p>I sat down onto the wooden pier, sighing as I gazed up at the night sky.</p><p> </p><p>The stars glittered beautifully up above in the night sky. Like silver dust scattered across strokes of dark blue paint. The moon wasn't out tonight, but that was okay. I felt more than reassured by the stars. </p><p> </p><p>Whenever I got nervous or had a big test coming up back home, I would go outside and stargaze. It helped clear my thoughts and calm me down enough to think.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, kid." I nearly jumped off the dock before I caught sight of mousy brown hair and relaxed. "Oh, um. Hello, Father."</p><p> </p><p>(Man. It's still <em>so </em>weird to say that.)</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt chuckled, sitting down right beside me. "What are you doing out late tonight?" He was dressed in a ruffly night-shirt that looked ridiculous on him. Is this how people dressed back in medieval times? </p><p> </p><p>"I couldn't sleep," I answered politely as I looked back up at the sky. "Just too many things on my mind, I guess."</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt nodded. "That's true." He sighed, "A lot of things have happened recently. Your mission is tomorrow, correct?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded. He sighed again. "I guess that's what had you worked up all week?"</p><p> </p><p>I blinked, hesitatingly nodding again. <em>Not a lie, not really. I am worried about this mission.</em></p><p> </p><p>I didn't know how to feel about this whole situation. It all felt so confusing, I didn't know what to do.</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt patted me on the shoulder, making me look back down at him.</p><p> </p><p>"I get that you're worried about your mission, kid," Jeralt spoke, startling me out of my thoughts. "But remember to take care of yourself too. Don't run yourself to the ground. There's no point in worrying to death over something that hasn't even occurred yet."</p><p> </p><p><em>He's not wrong. </em>I thought. <em>I can't keep going like this.</em><em> I gotta keep my strength up, so I can save everyone.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>So I can save him.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I sighed, wearily rubbing my forehead. "I guess you're right." I yawned, rubbing my eyes. He chuckled, messing up my hair with his hand. "You better get some sleep now. You'll have to get up early tomorrow." He said, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright." I stood up, stretching. "Thanks, I-I think I needed that."</p><p> </p><p>"Anytime, kid." He paused. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."</p><p> </p><p><em>You don't understand Jeralt. </em>I think, walking back. <em>But, still...It's nice to hear those words from you.</em></p><p> </p><p>I slept alright that night. No bad dreams or anything. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>The gears are turning and clicking.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The codes are being rewritten.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The branches are climbing and twisting.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The spotlight is on you tonight, hero. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>How will you react?</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Poor Juby. She needs a break.</p><p>Unfortunately, the mission is right around the corner.</p><p>Let's see how she holds up.</p><p>http://blossom-wormie.tumblr.com</p><p>Got questions about any of my stories? Ask away! Also, please check out Royal676111 and their amazing fic, The Alliance between the Three Houses. Just your usual Three Houses story...WITH A TWIST! CHECK IT OUT!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter Eleven: [REDACTED]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Why is everybody acting like this is NORMAL???</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, guys! So I wanted to explain something to you guys really fast. This story is NOT a self-insert story, okay? I wanted to make that clear. Yes, Juby is based on me, but there will be some things about her different from me. She is my own original O.C. </p><p>That's all! Enjoy the chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[LOADING UP GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>b̸͔̦̺͎̦͚̠̯̼̥͎̳̆̒̋̚ ̷̨̥̖̗͔͉̥͇͔̜̰̭̖̀̆͆̓̊͜͝͠ ̷̢̡͕̩͎͈̥̖̩̬͍̘͙͋̏̌̾̂͐̎̆͜ͅ ̴̨̡̗̟͔̗̦͚͓̖̲̳͑́̏̃̊̓̽̐̋̆̉̚͠l̶̛̳̭̗̾̒̈ ̷̱͓̯̺̥͈̻̠̖̱̦̒̄̅̅͂̊ ̵̧̨͚̦̝͓̻̱͓̺̞̜̜̺̒͆̄̔̂͘͜͠o̷̯͐ ̸̱̗̳͙̗̻̯̥͇̰̖̥̉͌̔͒̋͂̐̐͑͜ͅ ̷̧̛̪̖̘͙̑͋̈́͐̈́̽̽̉͆̔̾̔̕o̵̡̘͓͇̲͈̲̪̲̼̣̊ ̶̼͖͔̙͖̬̽̈́̓͝ ̶̞̬̲̬̱̺̦̺̰͌͂ͅd̸̜̱͚̠̹͉͓͇̗̰͍̄͑̐ͅ<br/>̴̨̼͕̗͠<br/>̴͔̳̣̩̻̖̾ͅň̷̞͊͒́͗̇̈́̀̚͝ ̵̢̧̨̖͉͔̠̫̫̤̤̥̠͜ ̸͈̤̽̌̃͛ ̵̧͙͚̄͆ ̸̘̬̥̹͖̖͙̫̟̃̿̐͑̋́͗̌͛͑̚͜͜͝ͅ ̶̧̨̧̱̝̖̙̭͓̜̤̱̋̋̒̆̎͑̊́͌͘͜͝ͅ ̶̼̱͔͖͊̎̎̕o̵̞̜͕͕͕̠͎̩̘̓̑̽͜ͅ<br/>̶̟̙͇̳̳̩͓͚̖̬͍̗̔͐̇͌͆͛̕ͅͅ<br/≯̖͑̍͆̉͑̄͝͝ś̸̙̲̝̹̪̳̼͕͐̽ ̵̺͔̝͍̮̔̅̈̃̉͋̿̽͘͘ ̸̨̞̭͍̩̮̹̰̻͇͙͎͚̌́͑̑̉̓̆̄͑̚͝T̵̨̧̛̬̰͉̱̥̜̲̝͓̬͍̺̽̈́̄̅͌͋͊̄̉̃̈͘̚͠ ̸̬̞̭̺͖̮̹̠̜̎̊͋ ̸̧̻̮̠͍̝̈̑̓̃̈́̏͒͆̽̌̃͘o̸̲̲̙̯͍͙̦͖͒̐̔̌̀͑͝͝ ̶̡̧̞̫͎̭͕̺͕͈̪̩̮͔͈̅̔̃̏̕ ̸̨̡̫͖̗̙͉̬̼̤̓̀͒̈́͆͆̿̊͜͠ͅ ̶̩̗̘͎̻̞͓̘̫͂͘P̷̡͓̺͇̜̮̞̠̞̪͇̮̥͈̅͊͜͝</p><p> </p><p>"As you've already been notified, your mission is to subdue some bandits," Seteth was saying, crossing his arms as he did so. "Our students have been learning about combat through study, but this is a precious opportunity to provide them with practical experience. The knights are prepared to offer their assistance if necessary."</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri nodded as I hid a sleepy yawn. It was (six?) in the morning and I felt like shit. Seteth sighed, shaking his head. "In short, this is no mock battle. You must be prepared for anything. You will receive a message from the knights when it is time to depart. Until then, use your time wisely."</p><p> </p><p>Seteth walked off, leaving me and Dimitri by ourselves. Dimitri turned to me, anticipation sparkling in his eyes. "This will be our first true battle, I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you, Professor."</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, rubbing my tired eyes. "As am I."</p><p> </p><p>"During the mock battle, your commands were thoughtful and thorough, as was your strategy. With you on our side, I'm confident we will prevail." </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yep. Totally thoughtful."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>SHUT UP, ECHO!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Looks like there's some time before we leave." I replied, "We should use this time to prepare ourselves."</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri's eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled. "You took the words right out of my mouth, Professor."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Was I not supposed to say that?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dimitri walked out of the Audience Chamber, leaving me to Echo's mercy and my own thoughts. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Anxiety was already welling up within me. I could feel my chest go tight with worry.</p><p> </p><p><em>Be on your guard. Don't die. Make sure everybody survives.</em> I chanted, over and over again in my head. </p><p> </p><p>Fear only gripped my heart tighter.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"There you are." I turned around, startled. Jeralt walked up to me, sighing. "I was hoping we could talk."</p><p> </p><p><em>T-talk? </em>I wonder. <em>Didn't we just talk last night...?</em></p><p> </p><p>"Um, sure." I nodded, stepping off to the side of the Training Yard with Jeralt. He looked me in the eye and said. "I want you to take some of the mercenaries with you." </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh. That's it?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He continued. "I know you can handle yourself out there, but your class is still inexperienced. I would feel better if you took some of the mercenaries with you, just in case anything should go wrong."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Should I...?</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"Yes, idiot!" </em>Echo hissed at me. <em>"If you have any brain cells at all, you should accept this!"</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Okay, okay. Geez, no need to be mean.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Alright." I agreed. "I'll take some of the mercenaries with me." </p><p> </p><p>Jeralt sighed. "Good." </p><p> </p><p>It was silent for a few moments. Jeralt looked around, scratching the back of his neck. It looked like he wanted to say something else, wait-</p><p> </p><p>"Is there something you want to say?" I blurt out the moment that thought passes through my brain. (I can't help it! My mouth moves on autopilot the minute I think of something!)</p><p> </p><p>His gaze shifts back to me. "...I didn't get the chance to ask you this last night, but how are you adjusting to monastery life?"</p><p> </p><p>"Hmm..." I hum.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"RAT!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"CATCH IT!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What is going on out here?!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"There's a fire!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"SHIT, SOMEBODY GET SOME WATER!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Felix, please stop trying to stab Sylvain!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Eh," I shrugged. "I think I'm doing fine."</p><p> </p><p>(From where I was standing, I could see the huge hole blown in by Annette and Mercedes's magic a week earlier. There was a blanket nailed over it, but it didn't exactly hide it all that well.)</p><p> </p><p>He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't expect that." </p><p> </p><p>I shrugged. "I mean, things could be worse. It's not so bad here."</p><p> </p><p>He sighed again. "When we were mercenaries, I handled everything." He said, "Outside of battle, you didn't have much contact with people did you?"</p><p> </p><p>I looked away. "Uh..."</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, "I thought being thrown into a swarm of noble brats to teach would be a bit much for you." He shrugged. "But I guess I had nothing to worry about."</p><p> </p><p>Jeralt clapped me on the shoulder, making me flinch. "Remember, this might be fairly routine for you, but for these brats, it will be their very first taste of battle. It'll be tougher to sleep at night if one of your little pupils die, so stay vigilant and lead them well." He turned away. "I wish I could offer you my support, but Lady Rhea won't allow it."</p><p> </p><p>I placed my hand over his. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone die." I answered, cooly meeting gaze. "Not on my watch."</p><p> </p><p>He smiled. "That's what I like to hear." His smile dropped, a serious frown replacing it. "I don't mind you settling into your life here, but let your guard down. Ever. In the meantime, I'll try to figure out what Lady Rhea wants to do with you here."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay." Was I said. Cause really, what else could I have said?</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Thirty-five bottles of beer on the wall, thirty-five bottles of beer on the wall-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"STOP, PLEASE!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I take one down and drink it full and now I have thirty-four bottles of beer on the wall, thirty-four bottles of beer on the wall~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I'M BEGGING YOU! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODDESS-STOP!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I slyly grinned. Being an annoying little shit to others is fun! (HAHAHAHAHAHA! 😈)</p><p> </p><p>A few of the Blue Lions had struck up conversations with some of the mercenaries. Even Felix (The guy that tried putting Sylvain in a chokehold out of pure annoyance) was talking to a mercenary named George. Well, he looked like a George anyway. I wonder if he has a brother I could call Fred...</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, Professor?" Annette asked, interrupting my thoughts and terrible singing. (BTW, my singing isn't actually that bad. I just pretend it is.)</p><p> </p><p>"Yes?" She looked away, nervously biting her lip. "I know we've been preparing for this all month," She began. "But do you think we can pull this off?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"We'll be fine," I said, giving her a reassuring smile. "You'd be surprised at how stupid some bandits can be." </p><p> </p><p>Annette giggled, "Really?"</p><p> </p><p>I snorted. "Oh, trust me." </p><p> </p><p>(My math teacher once told my old science professor, Miss Rain, that she thought Pluto wasn't a planet. I've never seen somebody's face grew that angry in my <em>life</em>. BTW, Pluto IS a planet. You will not change my damn mind.)</p><p> </p><p>If the great Coronavirus outbreak of 2020 taught me anything, it's that I'm never naming my child Karen, and people can be so stupid sometimes. </p><p> </p><p>Annette smiled, then gasped. "Looks like we're here!" </p><p> </p><p>I turned my head. High gray canyon walls and low gentle slopes greeted me. From where I was standing, I could see the bandits lined up protectively in front of the bridge connecting us to Kosa. Their swords raised, and axes ready. Man, Byleth's vision was <em>so</em> <em>good.</em>  </p><p> </p><p><em>Maybe it was a good thing I brought my new knife with me today, huh Echo? </em>I thought, patiently waiting for another snarky comment.</p><p> </p><p>No response.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Echo? Echo? ECHO?! Oh, come on man! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>This is not good! THIS IS NOT GOOD AT ALL! </p><p> </p><p>I chewed my lip nervously, looking around me. It was taking all my effort not to start screaming right there and then. </p><p> </p><p>I had no Divine Pulse, so I couldn't turn back time if somebody died! I needed my in-game guide! WHERE WAS SHE?!</p><p> </p><p>"The Red Canyon..." I heard Dimitri murmur, quickly snapping me out of my spiraling panic. He clutched his lance tightly in his hands. "This is the first time I've ever been here. It's like walking through a ruin..." </p><p> </p><p>He seemed kinda out of it, so I shook him slightly. "Earth to Dimitri? You there?"</p><p> </p><p>He blinked, startled. "Ah, right. Let's get this battle out of the way, Professor. The thieves must have already been driven back."</p><p> </p><p>"THE KNIGHTS CHASED US ALL THE WAY HERE?!" Kosa screamed. I winced, rubbing my ears. (That guy is LOUD.)</p><p> </p><p>Couldn't hear what the other bandits said, but it's not like it matters. </p><p> </p><p>[GAME PAUSED]</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...It's not like it matters." -Juby, Imperial Year 1180</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I was terribly wrong in assuming this. You will see why later on.</p><p> </p><p>[GAME UNPAUSED]</p><p> </p><p>"According to our information, there is a back road to the west." Said Dimitri, readying his lance. "Let's split up and approach from the west and the front."</p><p> </p><p>"Right." I nodded to Ingrid. "Ingrid, you, Ashe, and..." I paused. "...Annette will take the back road. The rest of us will approach from the front. Got that?"</p><p> </p><p>All three of them nodded in unison. "Yes."</p><p> </p><p>I grinned. "Good. Let's move!"</p><p> </p><p>We all scrambled to our positions. The fighting itself wasn't the tricky part. I simply just let Byleth's body take over and do that for me. The difficult part was trying to keep everybody in my view. I didn't think it would be too difficult, but I hadn't taken into account the battalions. There were so many people, it was hard to keep track.</p><p> </p><p>I was fine for the first twenty minutes of the fight, everybody seemed good and yeah, I had to shout or give the occasional direction to someone. But, all in all, I thought it was going fine. </p><p> </p><p>Dimitri rushed forward, driving his lance into a thief's stomach, the icy blue light of the Crest of Blaiddyd lit up behind him, helping him send the guy flying several feet. Dedue blocked with his ax against another thief's sword as I plunged my blade into a bandit's stomach. Mercedes was right behind us the whole time, firing off several Nosferatu and Fire spells at incoming thugs.</p><p> </p><p>(I had played this battle hundreds of times before, on both Classic and Casual mode! This couldn't be so bad, could it?)</p><p> </p><p>Ingrid was doing a good job of commanding the mercenaries, motioning with her hands and shouting orders and commands. (Yes, I chose Ingrid to lead a battalion. She's pretty good at the whole 'leading' part.) I couldn't quite see Annette or Ashe anywhere, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of some familiar ginger and gray heads.</p><p> </p><p>Just when everything seemed fine, I tried going for Kosta, shouting for Dimitri and Dedue to cover me.</p><p> </p><p>(BIG MISTAKE.)</p><p> </p><p>Watching the life leave another bandit's eyes, I couldn't help but feel...sad. I know I shouldn't feel bad for them, they're just thugs after all, but still-</p><p> </p><p>"I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Kosta screamed, crazily taking a swing at me with his ax.</p><p> </p><p>-I had bigger issues to worry about at the moment-HOLY, SHIT!</p><p> </p><p>"Aw, fuck no!" I shouted, quickly rolling to the side, blade raised to deflect his next attack-</p><p> </p><p>"GAHHHHH!!!!" I swear, my heart dropped fifty miles down the moment I heard that scream.</p><p> </p><p>It was <em>Annette</em>. </p><p> </p><p>"Annie! No!" I heard Mercedes cry as I turned in time to see Annette fall to her knees, sword driven through her chest. </p><p> </p><p>"Why...can't I stand?" Blood roared in my ears. "Need to keep...fighting." She dropped fully to the ground, blood pooling around her still figure.</p><p> </p><p>I quickly blocked another attack from Kosta as my vision went red with rage, fury, and so much <em><strong>more</strong></em>.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No...No! NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS! I TOLD HER EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>blood.</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>gunshots.</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>fire.</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>No, NO!</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strike> <em> <strong>"Everything will be fine! Don't worry!"</strong> </em> </strike>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I will <strong>not </strong>lose another person due to my idiocy. I WON'T!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ȉ̴̗͈͖̻͗̑͌͒̎̚ ̴̨͇͚̗͕͕̜̠̙̼͚̔̐͜͝Ẅ̷̰͈͓̙̬́͌̌̈̂͑̒̅̓̓͝͝͠Ó̵̢̯͙̙̘̹͍̫̾̈̔̓̀̓̿͆̊̈́̃̚͝͠N̴̨̙̦͚̠͕̙͔̜̥̬̫̠̹͆͊̎͌͂̈́̽̕͝'̶͖̲̣̼̠̹̄͋̽T̸̨͌͆̌̿͗͗̂͛͑͛͂ ̵̛̘͕̝͖͎͍͖͈͚̩̥̀̐Ą̷̩̝̽͗̅̾͌̈͂̍̾͘̚̚͝C̷̨̛̤̬̫̹̥͍̀͒C̵̡̡̧̛͈̥̞͚̣̟̣̪̼͙͂͋ͅͅE̷̛̳̟͈̣͇͚̼͎͇̭̗Ṕ̶̖̳̝̮̼̯̼̠̥͜T̷̛̛̻̪̯̘͍̘͉͍͔̝̫̼̋̓͒̋͛̉̿̄̈́̒̚͘͘ ̶̧̯̥͔͓̪̳͉̥̠͉͖͍̗͇̉̾͌͂̒̌̈̓̐͂̽̚̕̕̕T̸̡̛̗̯̣̻̙̦̹͇̳̞͎̠̔̿͆́̄̿̄̈̄̾̃̕͜͝H̴̟͕̹̗̽͝͝Ĭ̸̱̀͗̏S̶̢̹͇̟͉̖̮͖̙̿̓͆̐̔̎̈́̌̈̎̿͝!̸̰̇̾͊̚͝ ̶̛̘̹̗̟̠̯̼̫͔̫̀̆͐̋͆̀͑͋͊̏̽͘͝Į̷̳̤͇̺͒̄́͜ ̴͖̄̈́̾̿͝W̸̦̊͑̈́́̓͆͝Ǭ̷͍̑̆͊̈́̂̉̆̂̿͒̈̐̕͜N̸̨̹̭̞̯̤͓̻̣͗͒̿͐̊͝ͅ'̶̬̜̠̪̺̝͖͈͕͙͖̱̳͔̯̈́͒͝T̷̡̢̟̱̞̙̭̫͇̺̰͝ ̴̡̻͚͎̮̠͉̻̻̫͎̟̮͐͐̅́͝͝Ļ̵͉͈͍̭͔͈̤̘̣̪͖̳̤̽̊̄̇̓͒͂̔͠ͅO̸̞̼̭̭̣͓̙̟͚̩͌͛͛̉̂͋͌̔͆̄͛̃͝͝͝ͅͅŞ̴͉͕̗͎̱͔͈͇͙̪͖͇̙͕̎͐̐̇̎͋̏̓͑̊̚Ę̵̢̛̤̱̭̺̙̞̣̟͇͚̭̯̫̽̏̿̂͑̋͐̽̉̓̄͘ ̵̨͉̥̬͍̱̟̪̫̈́̈́͂̓͒̈̐̿A̵̢̙̲̬̯͎̪͇͑͗́̒̉͌̒͜ͅN̸̨̗̲̭̯͚̲̫̬̱͚͎̔̍̆̃̈́Ǫ̷̢̢̨̥̹͖̯̣̐̎̂̇́͋̿͌̎̅̆͘͠T̷͓͚̜̲̙̅̇̕Ḩ̷̰̳̤̩̬̭̫̮͎̼̯̝̩̓̄͒͋̈̏́̽͑̃̀͘͘E̷̢̗̼̠̞͚͓͕̟̠̳̤̟͒͂̉͂̓̓͜R̸̞̹̦̼̼͖͙͍̙̖̬̱̗̔͒̆̚ͅͅ ̶̼̘͉͗̐̽̈́̏̇̏́͌̑͗̈́͘͘P̴̺̦̮̯̯̣̈̈̐͂̅̀̉̃͌͑̔̽̕̕͝E̷̪̬̩̺̹̠̠͇͎̮̭͎̤̞̭͑Ř̵̨̨͉̰̰̝͈̫̺́̎̂̆͋̊̕͝͝S̴̗̫̮̣̟̼̞̤͊̐̃͒́̃̊͑̎̓͜͝O̶̠̬͙̳̹̭͈̺͑̒̐̆͗͌̊͐̍͑̆͜͝͝N̴̥̞̳̗͙̱͎̹̓̎̉͊̐͂͜͠!̴̡̨̗̝̹̠̞̟͕̑̓̈́̋͂͝͝ ̷̘̜̭̖̆̃̏̐̚͠T̷̘̦͈̬͇̥̫̙̫͎̝͍̍̅̃̐͑́̈́͘͝À̶̝̜̱̲̈́͗̌͜Ḱ̷̢̮͚̪̥̠Ȩ̶̧̺̭̬̬̼͚͇͉͓̍̎̃̒͛̀̐̋̐̿̊͝ ̵̡̮̯͖͎̪̙̱͇̭̇̋̓̽͜T̸̨͚͙̠͙̪̥̦͔̥͈̣͑̀̈́͒̿͂̋̑̂̓̆̕͝Ȟ̴̟̯͕̩͍͉̝̩̫̩͇̱̋́͐̅̏͗͝͝ͅĬ̵̡̳̤͚̝̞̬̮̌̓̆͗̆ͅŚ̸̨̘̬̫̣̙͒̒̈́̑͋̈́̎͜͜ ̵̘̖̖̬͖͎̤͎̼͕̼͖̳͋͗̆͒̾̅̐̉͒͊̈́̅͘͜B̴̨̝̠͉̳̘͗̍͒͐͑̿͌̉̋̒A̸̡̺͓̘̋̓́̔̀̈͛̂̀͐̈́̆̎Ć̶̝̹̭̓͗̑̄͂̍̕K̵̢̘̗͎͇͉̪͉̭͓̞͋́͊̐̑̍̒̐̚!̴̢͍̦̐́͂̅̈́̾͌̒͊͊̕̚͘</p><p> </p><p>[̵̬̥̳͉̘̫͕̙̗̎ͅE̵̦̲͒̈́̄̐̉̂͂̏͛̾̕͝͝R̵̰̘̤̱̤̤̙̪͈̠̬̔̅̇̓́͠͝ͅŖ̴̨̨̨̮̘̦̘̤̠̟̜͚̹́̌͂͂͆̋̽̌͊͜͝͠O̷̡̖̲̭̳͇͓̝͙̫͛Ŗ̵̛̟̥̥̾̓͛̈́̄͑̔̾̾̽̾̎̕ͅ;̷͇̟͠ ̷̢͚̘̣͔͚̯̣̦͕̱̩̈̓̏͌̉̂̔̔̌͐̚͝͝S̵̢̢̨̗͇̯͇͇͓̙̟̯̘̄̅Ỵ̸̫̤͍̭͙̥͒̂̏̆͛̔S̶̰͇̠̽̊̿͐̆̀̃͘͠T̷̛͎͐̀̄̂͗͒̑͊̈́́̚Ë̶̲́̎̂̆͑M̴̨̨̯̫͉̞̉̈́̄̑͗̓̋̓̽͒̚;̸̨͈̖͚̱̼̺͓͙̹́̒͛̄̿̑ ̵̜̯͓͈͉̂͌̐̈́̂̀̌̎̀͋͒C̵̯͍̃̎̅͒́̀̐̌͒̇͆̐͐͂͝Á̴̭̊̈́̽N̷̼̥̄͛̇̆̀̉͑̒̓̓͂̋̔͝͠N̷̡̳̞̹̻͕̯͎̑̍̿͂̇̽̓O̶̪͇̙̩͈̅̑T̶̨̧̜͙̬͕̳̖͍̙̝̳̤̰̾͌̈́̂̀̃̅͒̋̌͐͜ ̷̣͍͓̩̑͑̋͋͜͠ͅͅC̴̪̏Ǫ̵̿̉M̷̢̛̼̟̾̄̐͗̅͆́̚͝P̸̫̘͔͑͌̍͂̌͊̒U̵̞͑̈̃̋͊͂̃̽Ť̷̡͍̣̫͖̦È̵̼̹͚͈̪̙͈̙̼͈̈́̕͝.̴̙͚̦̥̝͎̙̝̖̲̹̳̍̎̿̏]̸̢̺̙̟̝͌̈͂̓̒<br/>̴̡̩̲̳͍̟͖̮̼̽̍̅́̔̉̈́̄̓͘ͅ<br/>̶̝̃̀̏̅̕[̵̡̢̨̨̣͚̗̬̠͓͖̳͔̐͌̈̈́͛͊̂̽̏̊͜</p><p>C̷̘̞̼̋̅̚͠Ǒ̴̡̙͈̥͓̟̱͉̩̰̰̙͙̔͐́͠ͅR̸̨͕̬̤̞̗̻̥̱͎̂̋̄͒̊̔̚R̶͖̬͈͇̘͒̅̅͘͘U̵͕̬̎̅P̵̢̢͉͕͈̹̫͍͇̳̌́͊͜͝͝T̸̢͔̠̮͔̞̜̘̮̄̈́͂̌̓̿͘Į̶̥̣̭͖̀̋͐͊́̃͠O̷̼͊̄̅̑̿N̷̨̼̫͍͖̯̠̹̺̯̪̼̘͆̄̽̃̿̓͑̾̕͘̕͘ ̶̧͇͇͖̜͉̤̩̗̜̦͖͍̦̖̐D̷͓̹̤̈́͌̌̐͐͝E̴͍̣̱̬̩͍̬̙̭̋̿̓̓̐͆T̵̹̥̮͓̿̎̆͛͆́̈́̎̑̿̈́̃̈̏̿E̴̫̿́͌̉̋̓̈́̈̀C̸͖͎͖͍̮̗̹͍͎̜͑̍̎̍͗̔̏͘͝T̷̢͉̼͚̗̗̠̻̣̻̝͖̖̻͆̃̓̈́̈́͑̚͝Ȩ̸̛̼̩̻̘̝̰̲̱̍͆̃͝͝Ḑ̸̞̣̝̥̮̻̣̎̇̇̏̿̄͌́͗̓͑̋͝.̷̢̢̟̹̞̩͙͕̻̘͍̞̭̣͒̎͐͋̅̈͐̒͑͛̚͝]̷͈͊̅̅́͑̇̈̌͝<br/>̴̼͙͖̫͉̟̱͕͉̙̩̻͇̇̋̄̃̚͜͠<br/>̶̡̡̻̜̝͕̤̩̠̼̼͉̆͂̎̽̓͂͐̈́͊̕͝͝͝͝ͅ</p><p> </p><p>Everything after that...was kinda a blur. I just remember a strange tingly feeling. A weird crackling sound and then...</p><p> </p><p>Static.</p><p> </p><p>Literal static. </p><p> </p><p>Ę̵̙̯͈̱͚͚͇͚̪̆̔̉̆͐͜͝͠R̴̡̡̰͚̙͕̯͕̰̯̰̬̜̉̏̂͂Ṙ̴͈̰̼͉̳̬̘̪̲͍̤̻͈́̍̕O̷̢̨̼̞͖̹̜͍͈̤̝̐̃̈́͑͆̈́̊͒̒̍͘͠͝R̵̛̰̮͓̍̓̈̔͛̓̀͜</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Professor? Professor, wake up!" </p><p> </p><p>When I finally came to, it was to the scared faces of Ashe and...Annette?</p><p> </p><p>Annette's fine? I saw her fall, though!</p><p> </p><p>Į̵̢̣͇̻̖̘̜͕̪̫͙͑́͋͝ ̸̰̜͒͋͂̒̾̈́̈́̽͂͋̒͌̅̎̕F̸͚͍̭̃̅̾͘͜͠I̴̧̧̙̪̬̖̮͔͂͂̈̇X̶̱͚́͆̇̎̾̅͜͝E̵͓̫̠̲̰̬̺̾́̍͊̏͂D̷͍̮̝͔̖̯͈͖̼͊̐̈̽̊̌͐̎͗̊̎͌͜͠ ̵̨̢̖̥̣̤̩̞̦͚͖͖͉̯̏͝ͅỊ̴̡̼͇̩͔̯̳̥͆̈́́̋͐͂̓̆͜T̵̢̨̡͔̺͚̝̣̖̭̹̱̊</p><p> </p><p>Annette gave a huge sigh of relief. "You're okay! Oh, I'm so glad!"</p><p> </p><p>"Wha...?" I tried to sit up, but Mercedes pushed me down.</p><p> </p><p>"Stay still. I still need to check you for wounds." She said, smiling shakily.</p><p> </p><p>"Wounds? The hell happened?" I groaned, rubbing my forehead. "Man. My head feels like shit."</p><p> </p><p>"That's probably from Kosta." George cut in, head popping in between Annette and Ashe's.</p><p> </p><p>"...Kosta?" I turned...then immediately turned back, nearly gagging.</p><p> </p><p>So. Much. Blood.</p><p> </p><p>"What the hell happened to him?!" I motioned to Kosta. "He looks like he's been through the shredder or something!"</p><p> </p><p>Everybody looked just as confused as I did. Dedue shrugged. "We do not know. He was simply like that."</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What...?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"We should probably get back to the monastery now." Dimitri looked up at the sky. "It's getting late."</p><p> </p><p>I looked up. The sky was already orange, fading into a dark purple.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Holy shit. How long have we been here???</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"Professor?" I blinked. "Ah, right. Back to the monstery guys!" Mercedes quickly helped me to my feet. I quickly looked back and gagged. </p><p> </p><p>"Shouldn't we do something about the bodies?" </p><p> </p><p>Dimitri shrugged. "The Church will send somebody to clean it up later. It's not our problem." </p><p> </p><p>Everybody else nodded in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>I stared.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Why is everybody acting so nonchalant about this???</em>
</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[GAME FILE SAVED.]</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Stay safe! Wash your hands and don't forget to wear a mask! Oh! And [DELETED.] This is super important! Juby is [REDACTED.]</p><p> </p><p>[THE FOLLOWING STATEMATE HAS BEEN BLOCKED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.]</p><p>___________________________________________________________________________</p><p>b̷̢̳̩͔͎͙̜̠̪͙͚̬͉̤͆̒̃͛ẻ̸̢̨̯̣̞͈̟͚̽̔̎͜͠ẅ̶̡̨̛̰̙͕͇́̍̂̇̏̅́͆̽̽͋à̵̢̨̟̖͉̜̮̪͖̗͇͑̉̈̔̐͝ŗ̴̛̣̤̫͇͓͇̦̩̼͓̏̾͗̀̉͛̌̔̓̓͘͝͠e̴̢̼̯͋͊̓̈͋͒́̓̔̂̆͝͠͠ ̶̢̧̞͓̟̬̤̖͎̳͍̱͚͈̠͊͒̄̾̃͠͝͠o̴̢̧͚̬̺̰̙̻̣͙̊͌̇̊̒f̶̰̟͓͓̯̙͓̻̥̼̅̽͜ͅ ̴̬̼͕̦͒̂̿͗̈́͌́̑͘̕a̵̫͉̩̿̋̅͐̐͝ĺ̸͍͍̯̩͎̾̈́̓ļ̵̨̡̜͙̥̭͖̗̲͇̝̮̀̎̅̈́̋̉͑͛̂̈́̆̅͘͝ ̴̨̜̳̠͓̖͓͚̣̍̍̊́̐͒͂ͅg̶̞̉͌͛̑̎͒͊̅͐̋̕͠͝͝ļ̶͔̠͕̟̼̬̙͔͔̻̫̇̌̉̑͌̿̽į̶̧̠̘͙̘̹̯͚͖̤̇̍̓̚ţ̶̛̛͉̼̞̲͉͎̩̐͋̄̾̍͘͝c̶̨̥͎̙̩̣̻̈́̄h̶̲̙̣̾͑̀͗͂͘e̸̡͈̮̜̮̠̖̜̗͉̹͂̿̆̉̋̈́̌̔̍͑̏̚̕͜͝s̶̛͖̪̠̬͇̖̠̪̓̓͐̔͒̉͆͠͝</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Thoughts || Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Memories don't always last forever...<br/>__________________________</p><p>Final wishes and thoughts</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sometimes I wonder how my family is doing.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Are they safe? Are they healthy? Are they fine?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I don't know. But I hope-No. Hope's not the right word.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...Wish. I wish that my family is safe. I wish that they are okay.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I wish...they could know that I'm-</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">
      <strike>ḑ̸̛̩͉̳̙͕̩͉̰̘̻̥̣̹̩̜̮̩͔͖̭͇̥͚̯̑̓͌̃̓̒̃͐́́̄̎̈́͑͂̈́̚͜͠͝͠͠ͅ ̷̛͇̮̭̯̫̮̮͊͋̿̅͛̇̔̄̉̎̈̉͛͛͐͂͑̄̿̿̋̏̈́̈́͜͝͝ ̶͔̝̮͙̞̦̻̲̰͉̭̖̞̺̥͍̈́̓̎͑̈̄̇̆̚͝ͅe̷̥̣̤͇̤͖̯̬̮̜̬̅̀͂̔́̾̀̓̓͊̃̈́̓͐̏͛͒̂̃͂̽̕͠ ̸̡̛͓̲̩̠̫̹̈́̓́̄̇́̐́̄̀̓̎͋̑̽̌͂͆̓̅̾̅̚̕͠͝͠ ̴̛͎̥̲̯͍̤̗͔͖̻̰̫̺̝̪͔͙̜̯̩̈́̌̉͂̽̍͂̄͋̏͐͋̅̊̾̋͂̈̚̚͘͝͝ą̴̯̰͇͓̠̗̬̪̲͖͉̫͕̯͍̈̈́̉͗̀̇̅̂̿̇̈́̌͊͌͗̒̈́̅̕͜͝ ̷̧̛̛̖͉̹̰͉̪̼̖͖̞̩̭̎̈͌̏̃̓̑͐̃͋̿́̋̂̈́̋͘͝ ̵̛̲̜̾̔͗̌͂̇͒̾̃̒̒͊̍̇̔̚̕̕͠͠ḍ̶̘͔̠͙̩̭͔͚͔̥̦̣̜̆͠</strike>
    </span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Someone waves at me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I wave back.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>There's shouting.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Someone pushes me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It's cold.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>D a r k.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>s  t  o  p</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strike>
    <span class="u">H̸̢̨̧̢̛̛̳͇̥̘̞̮͔͕̥͔̠̳̠̩͖̘͑̋̓͂́̃̊̉̓͑͂̽̃͐̂̆̌͌̈̊̑̑̌͐̍̎̒͌̊̑͒̽̌̌̀͗̈́͑̏̽̚͜͝͝͝͝Ȩ̶̧̡̛̛̲͖̪͓̰͙̝̮̙̪͕̬̘̩̣̥̭͓͚͔̩͇̩̘̬̪̘̥͌͒͊̎̄͒̓͋̌̔͆̈́̉̋̃̔̋̽͒̂́͂̊́͆̚͘͘̚͠͝͝͝ͅR̶̨̧̡̨̡̨͎̤̭̰͈̘̯̭͎͇̳̘͓͚̼̖̖̱̖̥̣͇̜̘͔͚͇̳̋̎͌̒̈̐͒͜͜͠͝ͅͅ</span>
  </strike>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strike>b̵̢̲͈̭̖̼͈̜̼̘̲̯̘̏̉͊̓̈́̎̀̈́̄͜͠͝ ̵̨̛͎̖̥͇̻̪̫̖̱̖̭̏̾̊̓̈́̌͌̌̇͑̆͝͝ ̵̘͉͔̲̯͎̙͚̊̆̇̽͐̇̇͑̓̓͐͋̍̍͊̓͜͝r̷̨͔̮̲̗͓̖̙̺̅͌͌̐̔̉͛͊̆͒̄̚͝͝͝͝ ̷̝̜͎̟̻̰̜̬̭̝͓̟̿͒̉͗̊̇̓͆̀̂͘͝͠ ̸̛̘͎͍̳͓͚̪̗̗͖̜̮͗̀̐̾͑̏̀͐̕ớ̵̧̫̣̳͍͖̙̈́͊̌͗ ̴̛̞̰͈̬̄͑̌͌̈͗͆̋͐͝ ̸̧̣̞͎̬͉͔̎̄k̸̢̪͎̣̪̺̭͍̤̳̞̙͓̗̊́̾̃̈́͒̕͜͠e̸͖͈̦̺̪̠̟̓̍̿̃̄̀ ̵̨͓̤̱͈͖̅̆̎̓̔̚͜ ̴͙̳͉̪̬̺̫̞͚̺̗͕̤͉͉͖̀̅͊͜n̵̮̠̄̂͆̊̓̏͝͝</strike>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
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<pre class="tw-data-text tw-text-small tw-ta">  <strike><br/>
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Kokuhō</strike>
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  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter Twelve: Annette, The Cheerful</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is awkward...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I NEED YOUR HELP GUYS!</p><p>I'm so sorry for the late updates since school's started up, it's been hard to keep up with this story, but don't worry! This story will get updates! Meantime, I need your help. I want you guys to tell me where you want to see this story go, and what you think may happen. This is so I can give you guys better quality chapters. I am also changing my updating schedule to Sundays, so I can work longer on the chapters and make them better. I will also be doing some more editing on this story to smooth out any plot holes. As for my other story, Between Light And Shadow, I will also be updating that one this Monday! So be on the lookout for that chapter! </p><p>Also, again guys, I'm SOOOOO sorry for changing the tags of the story and changing the Dimitri/Edelgard tag. I added that tag before I really had a story planned out, and I don't think I can write romance right now, since I'm still very inexperienced. PLS FORGIVE ME, :(</p><p>That's all! Stay safe!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[STARTING UP SYSTEMS, PLEASE WAIT.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING COMPLETE.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[OPEN FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME, PLEASE WAIT.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[PLEASE SELECT GAME FILE TO OPEN.]</p><p> </p><p>&gt;1̸̨̩̤̣͈͓͙̟̩͍̈́̄̄͂̎̿͂̍̀̍̍̅̂̚ͅ2̵̧͎̟͔̳̲̤͚͈̮̺̠̦̰̋́͒̌3̸̡̯̓̿̅͐͆̉̈́̑͝7̸̧̣̟͍̫͎͚͇̫͌̋͐̐̚͜1̵̣̻̣̘̐̓̈̏̕8̶̛̰̎̇́͋̿̈́̐̽̎͠͠1̶̢̛͕̜̻̲̟͉̫̤̦͔̥͓̀̒̆͆͌̑͛̊̽̈̚͝ͅͅ?̶̬̜͖̼̜͖͌3̷̛̭̻͔̤̹̰͕̈́̊̔͗̆̈̍̓̒̌̚4̵̡͉͚̯̯̼͍̘̣̯̤͓̗͛̓̐9̴̱̟̞̟̲͐̈́́̌̽̑̈́̐̈́̕̚̚̕͠8̵̬̠̱̞̲͑̔͑̉̓̓͛̈̏̀͋̍̚͝: PAUSED</p><p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Crimson Flower: COMPLETED</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Verdant Wind: COMPLETED</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Azure Moon: COMPLETED</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Silver Snow: COMPLETED</li>
</ul><p> </p><p>[OPEN GAME FILE, 1̸̨̩̤̣͈͓͙̟̩͍̈́̄̄͂̎̿͂̍̀̍̍̅̂̚ͅ2̵̧͎̟͔̳̲̤͚͈̮̺̠̦̰̋́͒̌3̸̡̯̓̿̅͐͆̉̈́̑͝7̸̧̣̟͍̫͎͚͇̫͌̋͐̐̚͜1̵̣̻̣̘̐̓̈̏̕8̶̛̰̎̇́͋̿̈́̐̽̎͠͠1̶̢̛͕̜̻̲̟͉̫̤̦͔̥͓̀̒̆͆͌̑͛̊̽̈̚͝ͅͅ?̶̬̜͖̼̜͖͌3̷̛̭̻͔̤̹̰͕̈́̊̔͗̆̈̍̓̒̌̚4̵̡͉͚̯̯̼͍̘̣̯̤͓̗͛̓̐9̴̱̟̞̟̲͐̈́́̌̽̑̈́̐̈́̕̚̚̕͠8̵̬̠̱̞̲͑̔͑̉̓̓͛̈̏̀͋̍̚͝?]</p><p> </p><p>{Yes} [No]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING GAME FILE, PLEASE WAIT.]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>Y̴̡̼̙̤̞͈̻̻͇̞͓͑͛͠ỏ̸̧̡̩̱̫̮̜̱̓̑̏̈́́̏̓͛͆͌̈́́͠u̷̻͚͎͓̞̍͒̒̏̃̃̕͘͜͝ ̶̨̭̙̙̩͔̋̎̌͗̉̕̕̚̚p̵͍̉͋͌̂̃̓̌̄̌̚͝ļ̷̨̨̧̖̺̲̜͈̩̩̟̽̓͐̿̌̆͒͌̓̌̚͝͝͠ͅa̶̡̮͖͍̹͇̋̌̊̋̎̈́̋͒y̵̨̡̞̫̫̐̈́̊̾͌ ̷̧̧͖̲̑͛̋͂̉̉͗̾͌͜a̶̩̽̈́͒́̉͋̑̈̒̾͋̏̚ ̷̞̾̈́̈d̷̡̰̪͈̝͚͓̗̥̱̈́̅͑͊͂͘͜͠a̷̡̯͈̰͎͓̩͈̽͐̌̆̋̕n̶̙̐͝g̶̡̢̲͓͖̓̓̌̎̌̉e̴̟͛͑ŗ̶̣̒̑̅͘̚͝o̵̫͌̇̔̆̐̒͑̕͝͝͝ų̴̡̨̰̱̠͇̈́̂͛͑͛͜ș̶̢̛̠̓͗̐̑̂̊̇̌̚͜ ̸̖̿̓̀̀͛g̷͇̰̺̗̩̻͉̙̹̽̌͐̅̓͝ą̷͎͇͍̥̓͑̃̃̈̇̃̇̽̉̚ṃ̵̛͚͖̯̤̝̳͎͙̘̬̌̅̋̃́̌͋͘̚͜e̵̞͓̻͌̔̚͜͜ ̸̧̻̪̈͐́̄̾͒̓h̶͍̘̘̫̯͕̪͎̱͓̰̻͚̫̣̊̓͌̂̐̑͋͗̑͌͐ë̷͔͇͔͈̑̂̈̐̚r̵̨̢͔̪͚̪͍̖̣̙̜͉̰̮̳̎̍̈́͋͋͝͝o̶̮̱͊̋̃̽̈́͝</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Day...Thirteen. It's been a few confusing weeks. From that weird note and dagger I recieved, to that weird...hallucination thing that happened at the Red Canyon. I just don't know what to think about that.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I've mostly been (trying) to teach the Blue Lions. I know I should probably try reaching out and talking to the other students, and I do say hi to some of them from time to time, but it's not the same as a full on conversation. I need to 'up' my support levels, as Faerghast would say. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Thing is...I don't know how. Still haven't done Ferdinand's quest yet, so no tea parties. Can I ask people to eat with me? Is that too weird? Can I even do that??? Maybe? I dunno? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Still haven't figured out who sent me that note, yet. The handwriting doesn't match any of the Blue Lions, (Speaking of which, I really need to get my hands on a dictionary. What the hell does ashlar mean???) and I don't think any of the other students sent it either. Besides, whoever wrote that note knows my real name, and that should be impossible. I've never told anybody I'm n</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>...Dang it. This headache is killing me. I need a minute.</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>I sighed, closing my journal with a light flop.</p><p> </p><p><em>Alright, so now that's over, what now? </em>I thought, biting my lip.</p><p> </p><p>I had a few weeks until our next mission, (*Cough* Lonato *Cough*( and exactly...eight months before shit starts to hit the fan. (I'm so sorry if I'm wrong, but I was too lazy to do the math.)</p><p> </p><p>I squinted, covering my eyes with one hand while I wrote with my right. The sunlight filtering into the greenhouse felt soft and warm. Like one of those extra fluffy blankets my mom used to cover me with when I stayed up late binging videogames on a Friday night. </p><p> </p><p>There weren't many people in the greenhouse this morning. Which was good, I liked being alone. It made it easier to write, that, and I needed to be alone right now. Needed to think for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strike>Home, home, JUST LET US GO HOME</strike> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Alright, so recap time! What shit has gone down so far?</p><p> </p>
<ol>
<li>Woke up in the world of Fire Emblem with no idea how I got there other than a few blurry memories.</li>
<li>Fought off some bandits. <strike>BLOOD, SO MUCH BLOOD HELP ME</strike>
</li>
<li>Got assigned to the Blue Lions. I so regret that decision.</li>
<li>The mock battle, we won duh.</li>
<li>Got my Crest analyzed. Hanneman looked so confused.</li>
<li>More bandits! I beat Kosta's ass to the ground! </li>
<li>...</li>
</ol><p> </p><p>That's about it really. Not much has happened to be honest.</p><p> </p><p>I mean, yeah, I'm kinda stuck in a videogame with absolutely no idea or plan of what to do. Yeah, I was assigned to teach a bunch of kids probably way older than me. Yes, maybe I should be looking for a way out of here instead of promising a mysterious and totally strange entity to stop a war that's probably going to happen no matter WHAT I do!</p><p> </p><p>...But complaining now isn't going to solve anything. Like Mrs. Rena always says, "Life isn't fair. Things aren't always to go your way, but no matter what happens, the show must always go on." </p><p> </p><p>Even though our show was still a huge flop, (I knew I should have said something when I heard hissing from Willy Wonka's hat. On the plus side, nobody else saw that garden snake coming,) it was still very encouraging! Except for the part where it wasn't...</p><p> </p><p>I grab an essay off the stack of papers next to me and sighed, eyes scanning over the way too fancy-oh my actual fucking god how did Dimitri write this shit-paper.</p><p> </p><p>"Why can't anybody here just write in plain freaking <em>print?</em>" I muttered under my breath. Seriously, though, at this rate I was going to get a headache just looking at these.</p><p> </p><p><em>"It's your fault for not grading these sooner." </em>I rolled my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah, yeah, Echo. I know.</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>"Seriously kid," </em>I crossed out another something word on Felix's paper and wrote above it 'Indecipherable.' "<em>This isn't healthy, you need to be more on top of your work."</em></p><p> </p><p>"Mmhm." I marked Felix's essay a B and moved on to Annette's. "Look, it's not a big deal-"</p><p> </p><p><em>"BUT IT IS! You insisted on choosing the house with the most problematic leader-" Hey, Dimitri's not problematic! "You haven't established any allies yet-" I'll get to it! I promise! "-AND, we've received a DEATH THREAT-" </em> <em>Echo, they didn't say they wanted to kill us- "</em> <em>FINE, A THREATENING NOTE! TAKE THIS MORE SERIOUSLY KID!"</em></p><p> </p><p>I quickly wrote out a big A on Annette's paper and placed it in the stack of graded essays...which was kinda small at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>"Look, Echo, I get it, I honestly do. But let's face it, the handwriting on the note matches nobody else's in the monastery. We're grasping at loose straws here." I snatched Ingrid's paper and crossed out a misspelling.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"WE CAN'T GIVE UP!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I never said we were giving up!" I sighed, underlining one of Ingrid's sentences and writing down in bold words, 'DO NOT REPEAT SENTENCES.' "Look, Echo, there's no point in <em>pointing </em>fingers right now-"</p><p> </p><p><em>"A pun? Seriously?" </em>She said, dryly. <em>"A fucking pun?"</em></p><p> </p><p>"Yes, and seriously, the note's one thing, but we have bigger issues to deal with right now. We should probably just focus on making allies and ties right now like you said." I marked her paper with a big fat C and picked up Sylvain's, eyes scanning over the paper. "We're going to have to assume this was a prank, cause if we go after the person who wrote this and it turns out to be a prank or misunderstanding, we're going to be the center of attention and that's <em>not</em> what any of us want. We won't get anything done if we have everybody's eyes on us." Sylvain's paper was slightly rumpled but not to the point where it was unreadable, just small creases, here and there.</p><p> </p><p><em>"But, what if this is real?" </em>Echo questioned, giving me time to write a quick A- on Sylvain's paper. </p><p> </p><p>"Look, Echo. They didn't even say they wanted to kill us specifically," I started, unfolding a folded edge on Ashe's paper, "They only said they wanted us to stop 'playing games with them', whatever that means, and yeah they did leave us that dagger, but that could mean a lot of things." I circled another incorrect spelling on his paper and frowned. "The best thing we can do right now is to keep our guard up and try to forge ties with everybody." Scribbling down a quick B- and a small 'don't use words repeatedly' in the corner, adding a small smily face too.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Kid-I seriously think you should listen to me...!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The sweet melodious sounds of the charming bluebirds outside didn't exactly fit with the whole mood of the conversation we were having, but eh, go figure.</p><p> </p><p>"Do, re, fa, so, la, di, do~" A very <em>not </em>birdlike voice sung, I stilled, freezing like a robber caught in the act. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Who's up at this hour? It's not even breakfast time yet!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The sky was still partially cloudy and I hadn't even heard the church bells rung yet. I wanted to turn around and look, but I didn't want to scare them off in case they were easily startled or embarrassed. That, and I needed to focus on grading these essays damnit. </p><p> </p><p>"La, me, ra~" Something rustled in the background and my heart pounded. I kept my head down, so I was left staring at Sylvain's actually pretty well-written essay. Not saying his work is worth an A+, but...he would make an exceptional book writer. Just saying.</p><p> </p><p>My nose twitched, an itch slowly crept up my nostrils, and without thinking, I sneezed. Nothing special, just a small 'achoo!' </p><p> </p><p>...Except for the fact that now my presence was known to the mystery singer. Well, fuck.</p><p> </p><p>"Gah! WHO'S THERE?! IS IT YOU FELIX?!" Annette's voice rang out, shrieking. </p><p> </p><p>"Uh...no?" I stood up from where I was sitting, brushing dust off my lacy stockings (I need to buy some leggings.) "Just me, heh."</p><p> </p><p>Annette relaxed, "Oh, Professor, it's just you..."</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, and you have a really pretty voice." Annette blushed hard at that, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "Y-you heard all that?"</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, she blushed harder at that and-wow, I did not know ears could go that red.</p><p> </p><p>"Gah, this is so embarrassing..." Her eyes snapped back to me, cheeks still flushed. "You won't tell anybody about this, right?"</p><p> </p><p>I made a zipping motion with my hands across my mouth. "My lips are sealed." She gave a huge sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing. "Oh, thank the goddess..."</p><p> </p><p>"Anyway, what are you doing this early up, anyway?" I asked, folding my arms. "Class doesn't start for another hour, I think."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh," She replied, smiling. "I just thought I would get up extra early today to watch the sunrise." Her smile dropped. "Of course...I accidentally slept in a little, so I guess I missed it. I was just so tired from kitchen duty last night."</p><p> </p><p>"I hear ya. I was supposed to finish grading your essays last night." I let out a short sleepy yawn, rubbing my eyes. "Course, I fell asleep half-way through..."</p><p> </p><p><em>"That would be because you procrastinated and waited a whole day to even start grading them." </em>Echo deadpanned.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Well-yeah, you have a point there.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She laughed. "Heh, then I guess we both have the same problem then, right Professor?"</p><p> </p><p>I snorted, smiling. "I guess so, I mean, I can't help it! One moment, I'm pumped and ready to go and next thing you know, it's morning and I have a stack of papers to grade!" I gestured with my arms and hands to empathize my point and Annette laughed harder.</p><p> </p><p>"Haha! Yeah, I know." She straightened up, "Sometimes I tell myself I'm going to work right away on something, then I forget, and by the time I remember it's two hours!" She laughed, sweetly, and without any bitterness in it. Pure and untainted joy. (Why am I describing her laughter? Because why not.) </p><p> </p><p>I chuckled. "Yeah...Although we should take this conversation as a sign we both definitely need more sleep." </p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, heh." She smiled. "I guess we should." </p><p> </p><p>For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, her smile dropping. And, maybe it was just me, but the air suddenly felt a lot colder all of sudden. One second it was warm, next it was skin freezing. "You know, it's kinda funny, I was a little bit intimidated when you first arrived at the monastery after hearing your story from His Highness." She looked back at me, grinning. "But seeing you in person made me realize how silly I was being. You helped me up when I tripped into you and you've been trying really hard to teach us! Even so..." </p><p> </p><p>My chest tightened at that and suddenly it was starting getting very hard to breathe. A hot...something started burning in my chest.</p><p> </p><p>She shivered, hugging her shoulders. "I feel like something's wr-"</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>DING DONG DING!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The church bells rang, signaling that class would be starting soon. I jumped into the air-Okay, it would be more accurate to say I jumped and yelled at the air. "<em>Holy-</em>" I clutched my chest, glaring up at the ceiling of the greenhouse. "Really?!"</p><p> </p><p>Annette giggled while I mumbled furiously to myself. "Stupid old bell, hmph." Gone was the chilly atmosphere, warmth quickly flooding back into my face and body. The burning feeling was gone too...so maybe I imagined it? </p><p> </p><p>"Looks like I have to find Mercie now, Professor!" She turned and ran, stopping in the doorway to turn around and wave. "See you in class!"</p><p> </p><p>I waved back, a faint smile on my lips. "See you too!"</p><p> </p><p>She ran out of the door as I sighed, closing my eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>"...You do realize we haven't finished grading the essays yet, right?" </em>My eyes immediately snapped right back open.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>OH SHIT-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>[SAVING GAME, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[GAME SAVED]</p><p> </p><p>[...OPEN PROJECT m̵̧̨̛̛̺͖̘̼͉͖̭͉͉̩̰̞̲͕̳͚̹̯̪̲̘̰͕͍͈͓͔̯̬͚̙̙͕̻̠͚̥͖͎̙̤̪̙̓̽̇͌̏͋̈́̒̍̐̉͂̿̒̑̏́͗͛͑̉̉̎̿̉̑̔̔̍̍̅̒͊̏̀̉̑͐̍͐̄̌͘̕̚͘͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅ.̸̧̡͖͍̘̰̗̩͖̙̺͙̤̠̲͓̪͙̭̩͇̤͓̪͈͙̱͉̟͋̅̇̓͗̂̏̓͌̈́͒̓̓̓̂͑́̿̒͐̈́̔͐͌̑͆̀̑̃̉̃̕̚̕̕̕̚͘͘͜͜͠͝͝͝͠ã̴̡̛͔̠͔͖̟̗̬̞̥̩̩̟̩͚̯͍͔̩̝̻̜͚̻͙̭̲̯͉͕̠͚͍̙̹̞̜̤͚͇̘̪̓̑̆̾̈́̾͛̐̈́͛͋̈́̈̎̏̐̓͛̍͘̕͝͝ͅͅ.̵̡̨̢̡̛͎̤̹͖͍̩̮̖̥̤͍̯̱̯̣͕̙̺̝̟̘̫͔̭̤̗͎̩̲̜̳̘̞̼̣͔͇̣̺̳̤̙͌̈͂͆̑͗̒̋͑̏̓̔̃͂̏̃̓̂͋̇̏̍͐̔̾̍̇̇͋͒̔̀̔̈́̓̄̊̐̃̔́̚̚̕̕̕͜͝͠͠͠͝͝r̵̛̭̖̈́̊͑́̎̓̍̅̈́̊̃̍̀̐͐͛̇͆̾͊͌̐̾̑͋̊̃̅͆̌͝.̴̮̭͚̺̰͚̠̙̩̼͇̪͈͍̳̩͇͕͔̺̩̰̤̪̠̇̅̊͛̀͑̈́̊͊̐͜ͅt̶̛͙̟̦͇̼̩̯̯̱̥̩͉́̄͒͒̅̂̾̽͆͗̇͂̈́̍͒́̌̌̏̏̚̕̚̕̚.̸̡̧̡̡̛̘͖̬̻̱̘̗̞̩͔̭̗͎̬̺͎͇̳͓̮͕̜̲̱̥̯̪̱̞͎̙̰̦̻̞̣̘̮̾̀̈̊̀̀̈́̚ͅh̷̡͓̗͙͕̗͍̝̻̠̟̼͉̪̦̜̰̬̺̬̰̓͂̒̇͋̏̿̆̾̑̍̍͛̏͐͌̋͂͆̊̆̌̈́̃̈̂͂̓̔͘͝͠ͅ.̵̧̡̛̛͖̼̞̲͖̥̯͈͓͉͖̣̦̲̗̩̩̘͆̌͛͊̀͂̐̐̓̅̆̅̊̎̈́͐͛͛̽̔̂̃̋̔̔͗̔̒̊̿͛̏̐͐̈́̏͛̕̚̕͝ẽ̵̡̨̢̡̛̱̻͖̟͇͉̣̻̦̺͙͔̯̘̪͉̹̺̫̪̞̫̼͕̙͉̼̣̹̟͙͈͔̗̯̗̮͍͖̪̯̲̺̆̈́̀͛́̋̾̈́̃̌̇̀͆̉̓̄̽͛̋̏̿̒̒͗̀̈́̌̈́͘̕͜͜͠͝͝ͅx̴̢̜̗̉͛͊̑̈́̂̈́̎̅͒̈́́̆̊̈́̈́͠͝ͅḙ̸̢̧̨̨̧̢̨͚͙̣̯̯̝͙̦̖̬̺͍̼͙̖̼͔̮̑͗̈̇͂̄̓̔͛͂͑͂̍͗̈́̆̔́̈͗̃̆͋̑̾̈̉̃͗̈͝͠?]</p><p> </p><p>[Yes]  {No}</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Not yet...Later. But not now.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>(Error! Hacker d̶̢̡̰̥̺̥̬̻͕̺̼͈̋͐̿̎̏̔͒̍͠͝ȩ̶̛͓̒̐͗̈́͌̈̂̔̿t̴̡̖̹̝̎ę̷̡̛̫̜̝̥͖̘̮̩̜̺̇̓̈́̈́͑͆̊͗͋̿̒͐̕͜͜ĉ̸̢̩̼̘̺̗͉̊̅̈́͘ẗ̷̨̢̧̼̰͈̗̫͇̹̜̗͇͓́͐̄͘͜͝e̴͈̟̩͙̭̤͆̋͜ḍ̷͋̄̀̿̅̈́̌̄͌̾͝]</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>There are far more important strings to pull. I need to refine my experiments. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, hush you! I know you are hurt, but have patience, the time for your revenge will start soon.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Our revenge...</strong> </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>01010010 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110000 01110000 01100101 01101110 01100101 01100100 00111111 00001010 00001010 01000100 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01101101 00001010 00001010 01010111 01100001 01110100 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101111 01110101 01110100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101000 00100000 01100101 00100000 01110010</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. ERROR</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING, PLEASE WAIT...]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Guys! Guys!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What is it, [REDACTED]"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Did you hear? They just confirmed Destial in Supernatural!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Super, what now?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Dude, it's that show about those two wacko ghost hunters, right?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, yeah!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Wait, isn't Destial that ship between the angel and Dean? One of the hunters?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yes!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"No way."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yes, way! But it was awful the way they pulled it off, I swear the stuff they're making in Hollywood is really lame nowadays."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Didn't they also make a new season of Doctor Who?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Really?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I think so, I'll have to check on Tumblr later."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Tumblr? Use Twitter, boomer."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Respect your seniors, boy!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You're fifteen [REDACTED] that's only one year older than me!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hmph, still counts!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Shh! Mrs. Rena's coming back!" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Oof."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Shhh!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Quiet!" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hey, [REDACTED]"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Yeah?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...Are we gonna be okay?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"We're gonna be fine."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I just thought to ask-With everything going on and all-"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"We're going to be fine, [REDACTED] don't worry so much, okay?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"...Yeah, you're right."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>"What could go wrong?"</em>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p><p> </p><p>[LOADING, PLEASE WAIT]</p><p> </p><p>[...]</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>01001101 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110100 01110011 00101110 00001010 00001010 01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110000 01110000 01100101 01101110 01100101 01100100 00111111 00001010 00001010 00101110 00101110 00101110 01001111 01101000 00101100 00100000 01100111 01101111 01100100 00100001 00100000 01001111 01101000 00101100 00100000 01100111 01101111 01100100 00100001 00100000 01000010 01101100 01101111 01101111 01100100 00101101 01001110 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01111001 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101101 00100001</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi. Sorry about deleting the other work guys. I thought that I rushed it too much. I wanted to improve it a little bit more. </p><p>Also, thanks for the ten kudos on the other work! I know that one wasn't good, but I promise to improve it with this one!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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